Through The Glass
by TheDarkPassengerInside
Summary: My version for season 2, with some changes in the previous events... Damon, Stefan, Elena's POV and more ...I suck at summaries :/
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first Vampire Diaries fan-fiction…I am a Damon/Elena fan so you may find the story supporting them, but it's not focus on them.**

**It takes place after 1x17 (when Stefan leaves the room without his ring, willing to die).**

**After that (episodes 1x18-1x22), the basic events are still on but I changed them a little bit. Finally I have my own version for the upcoming season…Hope you like it! Please review!**

**THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS**

When you look into the abyss, the abyss also looks into you.

Friedrich Nietzsche

**CHAPTER 1**

**Monday **

**May 20**

All of my endings are waiting to begin...

Slipknot-circle

_Stefan_

I slowly slip out of the room, in case Damon is somewhere around. I know that he wouldn't let me out to attack to someone, not without –as he says- the Court around.

I don't want to fall to Elena either, even though I know that she won't be able t stop me. I am much stronger than her even in that situation.

I manage to get out of the house, without my precious ring of course.

I walk to the lake where all begun. As I see that place a bunch of memories flash before my eyes.

"_You fed" _

"_Yes." I confirmed the obvious. "And it's incredible! My body is exploding my power!" I couldn't help grinning._

"_No…" Damon said in a whining way to show me that he got what I wanted to do to him._

"_I can hear things from far away. I can see through the darkness, I can move like it's magic…And the guilt" I added and I was sure that I was about to persuade him with that "the pain, Damon, I can turn it off like a switch!"_

_I got closer to him. "Katherine was right. There is a whole new world out there!"_

_Damon struggled to get up "Katherine is dead. There is no world without her…" his voice was broken and desperate. He got up and he passed beside me to leave but I grabbed him. I put my hand to his neck to make him listen._

"_You can turn it off it too. You don't have to feel that pain anymore!"_

"_I don't want it" Damon removed my hand from his neck but I pulled it back._

"_You are weak, you'll be dead soon…You need this! You'll die…" I said and I was sounding desperate too._

"_No..I can't…" Damon whined. _

_But I didn't listen. I compelled the girl I had brought to come closer and I bit her to expose her blood to my brother._

"_I won't let you die" I whispered._

"_No I can't" he repeated staring at the girl's bleeding neck for a few seconds. Then I turned his face on me. _

"_We can do this, together!" I told him and he finally gave in. _

It is so quiet here. The sun rises in about one hour.

I want to end my life where I was supposed to from the begging. And the worst thing is that I dragged Damon down with me.

Sometimes I wonder what would happen if I had let him die…Would it be better? And for who? The answers to that change through the years. It's another drawback of immortality…

I get closer to the soar. I close my eyes.

"_You got what you want Stefan" Damon told me. His voice was completely different from before. He sound more….alive. "You and me for the eternity" he added smiling._

_I smiled back._

"_But hear this, brother… I will make an eternity of misery for you!" he told me and he left. From that moment my wonderful world collapsed._

Being a vampire would be curse for me, Emily had said. And it is true.

So many lives have been lost because of me and the best I can do is to stop being a threat to them. A danger to Elena…

Besides, if I am dead, I won't feel that pain anymore…

"What the hell you think you are doing?" Damon yells and grabs my hands.

"Get off of me!" I say through my teeth fighting to get away, but for my bad luck he is stronger. He locks my hand he and forces the ring on my finger. Then he let it go.

I am so pissed off with him right now "JUST LEAVE ME ALONE" I yell.

"No." he says flatly standing in front of me.

"Why?" I shout again "Why can't you just let me die? Why do you like so much to watch me suffer?"

When I see Damon's eyes I am sure that he is going to kill me. He seems too shocked and angry…and hurt? Then he takes a deep breath.

"Why do you want to die?" he asks calmly, like he is trying to make a point.  
I take a deep breath too.

"I am a danger. Because so many people are dying."

"And what difference your death would make?" he asks and I blink. "Will your death bring anyone back? Or are you that stupid to think that if you die all the vampires will turn to saints, all people will live peacefully and nobody will be hurt ever again?" he says and I see that he tries so hard not to yell "I don't think so! Guess what Stefan! You will cause more pain dead than alive!"

"How so?"I ask as I can't see what he means.

He stares at me for a second and he makes a fist with his hand. Then he lets go.

"Have you considered how your death will hurt Elena? Do you think that she cares if you have killed some people in the past? She loves you, Stefan. And if you die you damn her to a life full of pain and guilt for your death!

And if her suffer isn't enough for you, think of this freaking town Stefan! In case you didn't notice Mystic Falls is the new Disneyland for vampires and more and more will appear! They will take over this town and…who knows? With Isobel and other angry and smartasses…maybe they will kill every single citizens here, including your girlfriend! I am trying to learn more about the storm that is coming Stefan. I am trying to save something…" he pauses "And I can't do this alone."

If you didn't know Damon you would say that he meant more than the obvious with his last sentence. But I know him. I think I do.

Anyhow, I have to admit that he is right. But…

"If you want to die fine, I am not gonna stop you. I don't care. But do both of us a favor Stefan! Don't say that you do this for Elena or for the world. You are doing this for yourself! Because the world is not perfect and you are not a freaking saint. Because you decided to leave me fighting alone in a world that you forced me to live! Oh I forgot you did that long ago!" Damon yells, he turns around and he leaves, without giving me a chance to answer.

_1900, Great Britain_

_I was at my house, one of houses actually as I couldn't really call anything home as I didn't stay there more than two years._

"_Do you need another bite?" Miranda asked, sitting on my lap. _

_I was compelling her of course to stay with me and offer me her blood. She wasn't that smart by herself anyway. She was so desperately to get married that she would give up on me without mind control. _

_I really liked her though. I mean her appearance. She was thin but with great…characteristics. Her hair was like gold. _

_I was avoiding brunette women as they were reminding me of Katherine. I didn't want to admit it but I was missing her bad. Even with the blood…All that vampire magic was gone for years now…_

_I stroke Miranda's hair from her neck and bit her. I didn't drink much though. I wasn't in the mood._

"_Did you kill them?" she asked some moments later._

"_Killed who?"_

"_All these people…They are been found almost drawn of blood, Stefan. So is it you?" she said looking for an instant smarter than I thought._

"_No. I don't…kill people, Miranda" I half lied. Well I did kill people but rarely. What I mean is that I killed them only if I lost the control. The truth in what I said was that this time wasn't really me. It was another vampire._

_My instinct said that I knew that vampire. And unfortunately I wasn't wrong._

_An hour later, Miranda was cooking._

_I heard a knock. I opened the door but I regretted the same moment._

"_Damon" I said flatly._

"_Stefan" he smiled. "Can I come in?" _

"_No you cannot." I said and I made an attempt to close the door_

"_Stefan? Who is it?" Miranda asked from the next room. _

"_Oh, come on, brother! Didn't you miss me at all?" he asked with his annoying arrogant smirk. "Plus I want to meet your lunch."_

_I tried to close the door again but he blocked it with his leg. I rolled my eyes and opened the door but I didn't invite him in._

_He was looking at me now seriously without smirking._

"_I just need to talk to you…" he said. Only later I realized that that was begging._

"_We have nothing to say" I answered coldly._

"_I have to talk to you Stefan. Just let me in." Damon asked again making a half smile. _

_I stayed silent for a second. _

"_Fine. Fulfill your destiny to make me miserable." I said through my teeth._

_I called Miranda who let him in. Then she got back to the kitchen, closing the door behind her. _

"_What do you want?" I asked stiffly._

"_I.." Damon sat on the chair and played with his fingers looking anywhere but me "I just want…to try…to do what you wanted" he was speaking too slow like he was saying the words silently before they come out loud._

"_What do you mean by that?"_

"_I mean, we can do this…together." He repeated my words. Damon finally looked at me. I thought I saw desperation in his eyes, but I wasn't sure._

_I laughed. How could he even dare? He was the one who told me that his new purpose of life was to make me miserable. He was the one who slept with my girlfriend back then and caused all this. He was killing people all the time. He had killed Jessica, my girlfriend, ten years ago, even if he claims that it was an accident. Now _I_ didn't want him in my life. I was better off without him._

"_No way." I said still laughing._

"_Why not?"_

"_Because I bloody hate you!" I said, smirking to myself for my British cursing. "I hate you" I spelled the word in case Damon hadn't listen "As a matter of fact I prefer to die rather being near you, brother." I mocked._

_Damon looked at me and I could clearly see the anger in his eyes._

_I leaned my head to his level "Now you can't make me miserable can you?" I mocked Damon's voice again._

_My brother got up. For a last moment I saw hurt in his eyes, which quickly turned into coldness.  
"If you think that I was trying all this time, well you are a fool. You haven't seen anything yet brother. Anything." He promised me before he go._

"_And you will be alone. Forever" I yelled to the door and I felt like a kid who tried to have the last word in a fight._

_I never learnt if he was telling me the truth about being brothers again._

I begin to walk to the house to calm Elena down, who I am sure is freaked out. I can still see my brother walking, cursing in Italian.

I've got to thank Damon too, for saving me. Maybe not now, but I will.

I promise.

_Damon_

It's been two days since Stefan, or should I say St. Stefan, tried to kill himself and be the hero for once more.

I am sure I am making a grimace while I am thinking of it.

Can you blame me? It's so fucking annoying. Whatever my little brother does, it is supposed to be for a greater purpose who all people seem to see it. I am certainly not one of them.

I am not one of anyone, actually. I make my own team. I take all the responsibilities but at least, it's hard to let myself down or to abandon me.

I am standing at the lake, which seems really creepy today. It's even creepy for me. I feel like I am on Friday 13rth movie. If I had to choose a role I would definitely be the killer.

I have seen every single movie with serial killers. It's my favorite theme. I love the way they think and it's interesting to see what led them to where they are standing right now. There is always a reason they acting crazy – geniously crazy- all of the sudden.

It is said that the human brain –and in some cases the vampire brain – is perfect. It's all in there. The past, the present, the future. The absolute knowledge. But this part –the biggest part- of the brain is locked. So some people, due to a strong emotional or biological incident, manage to open that part and either they can't handle the truth and that kind of power so they get psycho and start to kill people, or just other people think they are insane. Either way, no one ever believes them.

On the other hand, who wants to know their future? I wouldn't. That kind of knowledge could destroy you completely. You do everything you can either to achieve or avoid that future, having as a result the complete opposite. You make decisions you would never made before which may be fatal.

I look around. When I look beside me I flinch. Isobel stands next of me, silently.

"Isobel" I smile to greet her but what I really wanted to do is to kill her. And I would if she wasn't Elena's mom.

"Hi Damon" she smirks and she appears in front of me. She slowly pull her hands around my neck. "Did you miss me?"

I pull her hands off me. "No." I smirk. I think I lied but I am not sure yet.

"Come on, babe, you know that this isn't true. Even my husband was glad to see me." Isobel whispers to make her voice more attractive.

"Did you show up to the teacher?" I ask and for an instant I feel sorry for him. Isobel decides to return when he promises he would move on. On the other hand I am kinda jealous. Why did he get what I was chasing? In my case it's Katherine, but whatever.

She smiles "Yes, but you don't have to worry…I am so over him"

"I got that when you were cheating on him with me and when you left him to be a vampire. So the question is why did you come here? I bet that you didn't return neither for me or for Ric." I say with confidence, which seems to like as she smiles.

"I think you know why." She replies. "I need to see my daughter."

I felt like I was waking up from a dream. Oh, God Elena!

"What do you want from her?" I ask losing my self-control. Damn it!

Isobel seems to enjoy it. She gets a fake austere look.

"Don't tell me you fell for my precious daughter Damon!"

"I didn't fell for her." I snap. "I just want to know what do you want here."

She put her fingers on my lips. "If I tell you, I'll ruin the surprise, babe. And believe me you will be surprised." She whispers. Isobel kisses me this time. I don't resist.

But then I pull off.

"Oh, come on honey. I know you want it as well" she tells me and well, I have to admit that she's right. She is hot and that's why I accepted to turn her in the first place. "Come on with me"

Isobel takes my hand, after she kisses me. She leads me to a car, apparently her car.

I feel like I am hypnotized. Like I am fucking compelled, which is impossible.

So I just surrender to her.

Well not quite.

"We have a common friend." She whispers to my ear. Then she kisses my neck.

I smile.

"Yeah? Who?" I ask but I don't wanna know. Not really.

"Guess" she giggles and she lies on top of me.

"Is it really necessary?"

"Oh, come on please."

I roll my eyes " I don't know…The teacher?"

Now Isobel laughs, which confirm that what I was thinking for her is true. She's nuts.

"No. But if you consider him as friend, we have two common friends. But I am not talking about him. I am talking about Katherine."

"I have no friends…What?" my voice breaks as I understood what she said. I make her get off of me. "Katherine?"

"Yes. She sent me here. I have a message to deliver. But I need something from you." Isobel explains. She seems too exciting, which is either because she agrees with Katherine's words or because she loves my expression.

I hate that she has the control now. That really got me by surprise. Katherine? After 145 that I was looking for her, now she's interesting on me? Why? What the hell does she want? And why doesn't she come to tell me by herself? Why…why now?

I get out of the car and Isobel follows me.

"Leave me alone." I manage to say.

"Oh come on! Don't be like that. I know that you want it. But you have to give me something back" she insists.

"What do you want?" I ask coldly. I have no attention to give it her, because frankly I give a shit about what Katherine wants.

Did I just think of that? Me? Wow. I surprise myself.

"The invention. The one that Pearls gave to you" she announces.

"No way in hell." I snap.

Isobel frowns. "Why not?"

"Because I know what it does. It kills vampires. And I am not gonna offer you a way to kill me, thank you very much." I smirk.

Isobel turns around. She is obviously trying to calm herself, which make my really happy. Then she turns to me again. She forces a smile.

"Then give me something that _I_ want." She tells me. "I want to meet Elena."

This time I am the one who frowns. "No." I reply without even noticing.

"You are not going near her, unless she asks it."

"I am going to kill the whole town then and I am gonna make her watch" Isobel threatens me, smirking.

I pushed her on the car's door and I make her stay there.

She looks at me full of shock and surprise.

"Big mistake sweetheart! If you ever, ever think about to threaten her I will rip your heart out. You have no right to come here. Neither does Katherine. And if the bitch wants to tell me something tell her to come to me by herself. Did I make myself clear?" I say angrily to her. I hit her head to the window. It breaks, she groans, and she fells down.

I take a last angry look at her and then I leave her there.

What makes me worried is that I am sure she hides something. Which I am not gonna like.

Suddenly, Anna appears in front of me.

_Elena_

I spent the last week trying to fix my relationship with Jer. In vain. Well I don't blame him. He has the right to be angry. But he has to try to understand my side too. He has to understand that I did it to protect him.

I am sitting on bed, hugging my teddy bear. Oddly it makes me calmer.

I take some time to rest my eyes before I go to see Bonnie.

I remember myself when I was 10. I was a total different person. As every kid I suppose. I used to be so innocent and so free back then. Free to run, without worrying that something is chasing me. Free to feel whatever I wanted, without being afraid of the consequences. Free to dream without having the reality to ruin it….And all of that just because it made me happy.

Jeremy was 8 and we were sharing the room. It was unpleasant for both of us, because we had to see each other every single day and we didn't have any privacy. But there were good times too.

I didn't realize in what point we lost that.

When I open them again, I wince.

"God damn it Damon! Don't do that!" I yell to Damon who was standing near the mirror.

Surprisingly he doesn't smirk. He doesn't make any silly joke either.

"Did anyone come to see you?" he asks not coming any closer.

"What happened Damon? Is Stefan alright?" I ask standing up.

"The world isn't turning around Stefan, Elena! For God's sake! Can you think of anything else except him?" he shouts. I am about to answer to him but he continues. "We have a problem Elena. You are in danger."

"What?" I whisper. "What do you mean?"

When he looks my expression he sighs and he comes closer.  
"Look, I wish I could…I wish I could take it all away. To make you happy. But I can't. I am so sorry about that…"

Damon talks slowly and low. I can't say that I am not surprised by what he said, about the way he's acting. I know I should be scared. Something big is coming…but right now…I can't. He makes me feel safe even by looking at me.

And that's a feeling I can deny anymore. But it's forbidden. I want it to be forbidden. I am in love with Stefan. Stefan. Not him.

I walk to the other side of the room to avoid looking at him.

"What happened Damon?" I ask.

He sighs. It was like he was trying to pick up the right words to use.

"Isobel…is here." He starts.

Automatically tears come to my eyes, but I don't cry. "What? My…Isobel is here?"

"Yes." He whispers and he approaches me.

"What does she want?"

Damon takes a deep breath and he comes closer to me. He pulls my hair out of my face. "She wants…to destroy the town, the vampires mostly. She has more than an accomplishment Elena. I am unaware of most of them. What I know is Isobel works with John, who's working for the Court. Which means that if he gets the device he's gonna use it to detect all the vampires and kill them. At the same time some vampires from the tomb are going to attack. Which means that either way there gonna be deaths tonight." He talks slowly and I can see the pain in his eyes. The worry. But I can't receive what he's saying. All these….can't be real.

I close my eyes and I wish I could go back to the start. Back to the accident. I would tell my parents not to take that detour. I would save them. Jeremy and I would continue live our lives, our normal lives without vampires, without death. But what hurts the most is that I am not sure if that would fix anything. I am not sure if disaster would find me anyway. I came to a point where death seems normal to me. Where sadness and loss are something not just inevitable, but natural. I find myself even adjusted to the darkness. And that's something I swore myself I'll never let happen.

Until Damon wipes my tears from my cheek, I don't realize that I am crying. I take my gaze from the floor and I look at Damon. Right now I need that safety, that forbidden feeling more than anything.

He looks too sad too and I wish I could take it away. I couldn't take my pain away so I had to fix someone else.

He cups my face with his hands. I am totally lost in his beautiful eyes. They are so capturing. I am wondering if Damon did really had to use his compulsion to have a woman than he wants. He had just to look her like he's looking me right now. I can read his eyes. _No matter how bad it gets, I am here._

For a moment a feel like a insect. Those who go straight to the light even if they know that that will kill them. I know that if I do what I want right now, everything will fall apart. I will hurt Stefan. My Stefan….And I will certainly hurt Damon as I can give him what he really needs. Someone to love him and to be with.

But I can't just walk away. I need this. I lean my face close to his. He doesn't back off. Before I close my eyes I see him looking at me with mixed emotions. I can see pain and love, caring and distance. When I lean further and my lips is about to touch his, I see that he has tears in his eyes, but he doesn't cry. He closes his eyes and I close mine too. We stay like that for a while. _The strength of near-touch connection. _Damon steps back and the connection is gone. A tear streams down on my face.

Not just because I am sure that if he didn't go I would have kiss him and I would have betrayed my Stefan, but because he walked away and I…wanted it so much. I honestly don't believe that he acted more mature than I did.

What the hell is wrong with me? What am I doing? What am I thinking? I am so afraid right now…of myself. Of what I might do. But I don't have feelings for Damon. Not at all. I do love Stefan just him. I am not Katherine. I repeat that to myself a couple of times. I need to get away from Damon…

But not right now.

"Don't worry…We'll figure something out. We'll be fine." He lies and I think he knows that I can see that. In any other occasion I would be furious, but right now, lying is what I need the most, because simply reality would make me scream. And in this case, reality demands silence.

**PLEASE REAVIEW :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Yeah this chapter is way to big but whatever…hope you like it and please forgive my mistakes on spelling or grammar, if there are any….**

**CHAPTER 2**

**Thursday-Friday**

**May 24**

**I've learned it the hard way, nothing is what it seems.(****Duality, Slipknot)**

_Alaric_

I can't believe what the fuck just happened. My ex-wife, Isobel, showed up and all she did was to threaten me. She gave a device to her ex, John who used it to kill all the vampires in the town. He succeeded. Except Damon and Stefan of course. They have Elena, who has the witch. I mean Bonnie.

I repeat the story to myself. The high light of this is Isobel's return her departure and what's left behind. At least for me.

I could finally confront her, in my own way. She is not sad, depressed or…dead as I was convinced myself to think all these years. Now that I know the truth I can let Isobel rest in the past. Because the woman I saw before wasn't my Isobel. Or maybe she was, wearing a human mask. I don't really know how it works.

Becoming vampire makes you just cruel and human hater or just enlarge your emotions? I know – Damon told me- that you can turn off all the bad feelings, all the sadness, the regret, the pain…but I don't think that all vampires can really do that. Otherwise there would be no good ones. I mean who could have the chance of happiness and gave it way for the sadness? Nobody. I guess deleting feelings is a lie that vampires tell to each other and to their selves to excuse their actions and their choices. Or maybe it works like an advertisement. I think that evil vampires were evil humans once, with much less powers.

My head now hurts like hell, and I have this stupid man sitting beside me, wailing about his wife who damned him.

When I was younger, Isobel and I, had a friend who was married two years earlier than we did. His name, Jack. He was happy with his wife, since she cheated on him and then left him for his….sister. Neither of them, by the way, had told to anyone that they were lesbians, but anyway. Jack, after that, was a mess. He was missing work, he woke up in the street or a filthy bar without remembering anything from the last night. Eventually he lost all his money and friends.

We hadn't seen him for like four months, when we heard that he was in clinic for alcohol withdrawn. I remember clearly myself promising to Isobel that I would never do that to myself and here I am, in a bar, being useless for the last few days.

I literally jump out of my seat when my phone rings. It takes me a few seconds to realize what it is and then I finally pick it up.

"Hello?" I say dully.

"Mr. Alaric? Thanks God" I hear a really low voice on the other line. I can't tell who she is, but she's obviously sounds desperate. "Please help me…Please. She's back!"

"Who are you?" I snap.

I hear someone's else voice, and then the girl speaks again "Oh God! Call him please! I'm-"

"Call who? Who are you? Who is back? Where are you?" I tell to no one. The line is dead.

Great. Either this is a stupid fucking joke or someone really needs my help. Or _his _help. This is too fucking great. How am I suppose to help when I know nothing about her? Who she is, what she needs, where she is….who to call?

I bury my head to my hands and I curse a little.

"What's up with you?" someone asks me.

Damon. I roll my eyes. He is not the person I need right now. Granted, I don't know who I need to help me but that person is not him.

"Problems." I say coldly.

"Oh come on! Don't be like that!" he smirks, although I can see a difference on him.

"You don't look that great either." I notice.

He smiles sadly and drinks a little of his glass of whiskey.

"Does it matter?" he says staring at the drink.

I stare him. I don't know what to say.

"Why…would it not matter?" I ask uncertainly.

Damon doesn't answer. He continues drinking.

"Well…Something weird happened to me." I say, just to say something.

"You mean except the fact that your wife is a vampire, she came here to kill all the other ones, and that you are talking to one right now?" Damon smirks without looking at me.

I giggle.

"Yes, except that."

"Then I'll be glad to hear your story." he finally turns his gaze on me.

"Well, a girl called." I begin.

"Oh….you found a girlfriend. You are right this is weird." He comments, sarcastically as always.

"No. But I could have one if I wanted to." I defend myself. "Anyway, she seems to need help. She knew me apparently, and she asked help."

"What kind of help?"

"I don't know. I don't fucking know anything. She told me to call someone. But I don't know who is he I suppose to call. I don't know where she is. And her damn number is unknown." I speak quickly, sounding exhausted.

"Didn't see tell you anything else?" Damon asks gently.

"No….I mean yes, she told me to help her and that she's back." I say and I bury my head for once again in my hands. Damon doesn't talk at all, which is weird, so I check it out.

His expression is completely changed. He stares at nothing and he's paler than before, if that's even possible.

"No…." Damon tells with a voice lower than a whisper. "No. No"

"Damon, are you all right?"

"Of course it wasn't her. How could she?" He mumbles, trembling.

"What's going on?"I ask warily.

"Where…What if she's hurt?" Damon says in the same tone.

"Damon! Tell me what the fuck you are talking about!" I demand.

Damon like he just woke from a nightmare, looks at me grabbing lightly me from my shoulders.

"Katherine. She's back"

_DAMON_

For the first time after being a vampire I feel so…frightened.

What if she's really back? Frankly I don't give a fuck. I don't care about her anymore.

But what if she was the one I kissed? That would be the worst thing ever for a lot of reasons. One: she wasn't Elena, which means that the chances that Elena feels something for me are much more less. Two: if Katherine can pretend to be Elena to me, that means that she can do it with everyone. And last but not least at all, if Elena is Katherine, where is real Elena? Is she ok?

If I believed in God I would beg him to help me, to make this a false theory of mine.

"Do you need my help?" Alaric asks and until then I don't realize that I was talking out loud.

"I don't know" I say feeling a little bit dizzy. "Why would you want to help?"

Alaric shrugged.

"Can you call her?" I say sounding desperate which is a first for me.

"Who? I told you I don't know her numb-"

"Elena. Tell her to come to your house. Do not invite her in. If she's able to come in, then she's Elena. If not…." I don't want to think of that.

"Ok." Alaric answers almost immediately.

I didn't see that coming. "What?"  
"I'll do it." He says.

"Thank you." I can't hide my surprise.

_Katherine and I were lying to her bed._

"_Aren't you afraid?" I asked, holding her in my arms._

"_Afraid of what? I am the one people should be afraid of" she said grinning._

"_What if they'll caught you?" I asked warily._

"_They won't."_

"_What if?"_

_She lied on me. "I am not afraid because I have you and Stefan to protect me."_

_That made me upset, but I couldn't indentify exactly why. _

"_Why him? Am I not good enough?"_

_Katherine smiled and kissed me. _

"_You said that you rather share me than lose me, didn't you?" she said slowly._

"_Yes, but-" _

"_That's the only way to have me. Don't you want me to be happy, Damon?" her voice was flirty._

"_I do, but-"_

"_Then hush." She said and she bit me._

_After she drunk as much as she wanted to, Katherine rested her head in my chest._

"_Don't worry, Damon. Even if I leave I will return eventually. You and your brother are very special to me." She said, or I think she did cause I was dizzy due to the blood loss._

Alaric made the call and thankfully she agreed.

We walk silent to his house. I try to look quiet and calm, but I am blowing inside.

If Katherine took Elena's place, then where is Elena? What if she is hurt? What if she's….dead? How can I…

"She'll be fine. I don't think Katherine would kill her descendant." Alaric says as if he read my thoughts.

"Yeah right. Are we there yet?" I ask nervously.

"Here it is….Wait. Will you..be inside when she comes over?" he asks.

"Of course I will. It's my problem I'll deal with it. Besides I want to be the one who kills that bitch" I murmur.

Ric opens the door and he gets in. He mutters something about he's being crazy for doing this for me and that he has to hang out with normal people. I make an attempt to smirk but I am too…worried to do so.

"I am not gonna let her in, Damon. Just so you know." He says.

"Ok"

"Then why do you wanna be in?" he insists.

"Because one: she'll kill you for doing this, and two I don't wanna miss her. When I see her I kill her. Simple." I reply with confidence. "Are you gonna invite me in or what?"

Ric rolls his eyes. This times he mutters something about God who had to help him.

"Come in" he finally says with not pleasure at all.

"Thank you" I say softly and I come in.

His house is far more better than I expected. It's semi-modern and dark. There are some books on the floor at all over the place but that's not surprising since he's a teacher. There is a room right next to the door, which is a great place to wait for Katherine.

"Do you love her?" he asks looking down.

"Who?"

Oh that's fantastic, we will have to do soul-searching now.

"Elena…." Alaric answered. "I mean you really care about her. I can see that."

I say nothing. I don't want to know the answer to that.

Do I _love_ her? I feel her too close and too far for me at the same time. It's kinda the worst way of missing someone…She's standing right next to me and I know that I can never have her. Never.

Oh damn you Ric!

The door bell rings. I glance at him and I hide to the next room.

"Hello Elena" I hear Alaric greeting her.

"Hello, Alaric. What was the emergency?" she asks coldly.

"Er...I have something that must be yours. It's inside." The teacher says and I picture him pointing the way to her.

"Why don't you bring it to me then?" 'Elena' asks nervously.

"It's better to take it by yourself." Alaric sounds more confident this time.

"I would like you to give to me." She sounds kinda angry.

"Why? Do you need an invitation to come in?" he says openly.

I can't decide if that's good or bad yet.

'Elena' stays silent for a minute. "Invite me in" she says stiffly.

That confirms my theory.

"You aren't not Elena are you?" Alaric says more to me than her.

"Invite me in" she repeats.

"To kill me? No way!" Alaric hisses.

"You will come out eventually." I can see her smirking.

That's it! I can't stop myself anymore. I jump out of the room on her. She fells down and she looks surprised for a couple of seconds. I hear distantly Alaric yelling at me.

"How dare you, you bitch? Where is Elena?" I demand.

She doesn't like that. Katherine is stronger than me but she doesn't move.

"Don't talk to me like that" she says.

"I will kill you." I promise.

"No you won't." she smirks.

"Why not?"

"Because I am the only one who knows where Elena is. And if I don't call her keepers daily they will kill her." She explains.

My hand loosens on her neck.

"I will find her." I whisper.

"Good luck with that." she says and she gets free of me. She gets up, while I am still sitting to the ground.

"Oh. You can't tell anyone about this." She says looking at both of me and Alaric. "If you tell it to anyone, I'll kill you." That was for Ric apparently.

"And if you tell it to anyone, which includes Stefan, I will kill her and your brother, capic?" she says through her teeth.

I say nothing. Tears coming into my eyes for so many reasons. I try my best not to show my emotions to her, though.

"Besides" she strokes my hair this time leaning her head to mine. She caresses my lips with her fingers. "I came back for you, darling"

Finally, she takes her gaze of me to Alaric. She smirks and then she vanishes.

I continue standing at the ground. I feel like I can't breathe. I try to take deep breathes.

Why do I need to breathe? I am dead.

"Are you ok?" I hear Alaric's voice very distant like it was coming from far away.

I look at him but I don't respond. I just stood up and vanish too.

I need to calm down.

I run to the forest, not really knowing my destination.

Instinctively, I go to a place I had never been before as a vampire.

_1852, Mystic Falls_

"_What is happening to mom?" my 5 years old brother asked me. We were standing outside her room. "What all these people are doing in her room?"_

_Our dad who was talking to the doctor got out of the room. He looked really upset. _

_I stared inside the room. I saw Mrs. Mary, a servant, to cover mom with a shed. Then I knew that she was dead._

"_Daddy what happened?" Stefan asked grabbing dad's hand. He didn't even looked at my brother. He just kept walking. "Dad! Tell me! Why don't you tell me?" Stefan whined. Father continued to ignoring him. Stefan didn't like that so he tried to pull him into his way, but he wasn't strong enough to do it. That had as a result to fall into the table and break a vase._

_At least he got dad's attention. He looked really angry._

_He grabbed Stefan from his hand and he lift him up yelling at him._

"_That was expensive Stefan! Can't you just act like a man? Your mother is dead! Dead." _

_Stefan started to cry, but Dad kept yelling at him._

"_Let him go." I shouted. He didn't listen at first. I knew him too well. He wouldn't listen to me. Especially me. But I was sure that he would be interesting know._

"_Let him go, or I will go to Mr. Gilbert and ask him to tell you to hurting Stefan" I shouted. "I will tell him that you were drunk yesterday and that you were fighting with mom before she fell of the stairs!" I said slowly._

_He put Stefan down, who was still crying quietly._

"_You stupid kid!" he yelled at me._

_Dad looked at me and I could clearly see hate in his eyes. But I didn't care. _

_He closed his eyes for a second._

"_No wonder why I am mad at you all the time." He said through his teeth and he left us._

"_Does that mean that mommy isn't coming back?" Stefan asked hesitantly. He wiped his tears of his face._

_I sighed. I offered my hand to Stefan to help him stand up._

"_No, Stefan. I am sorry….But you know what? She will always going to watch over us." I said to him coming to his level._

"_Like an angel?" _

_I smiled. "Yes, like an angel….Hey do you gonna see a secret place?"_

_Stefan glowed. "Yeah!"_

"_But it will always be our place. Our secret magic room." I told him._

"_I won't tell anyone, I promise. Just get me there, Damon." _

_Stefan and I run out of the house, without anyone to notice._

_We walked a few minutes though the forest. It was sill morning so we could see clearly the path I had found with mom a week ago._

"_Here it is" I told him when we finally arrived._

_There was a big fall. The whole place was so beautiful and peaceful. There was a lake with crystal water. The sound of the falling water and of the birds were so amazing._

"_Wow." Stefan said happily. _

"_And there is more" I winked at my little brother and I grabbed his hand. I led him near the fall to I show him a cave behind it. _

"_Are we going in there?" Stefan asked, or rather begged._

"_Yes."_

_When we finally manage to get in from the least wet place, we both stared at the falling water for a few minutes without saying anything. The sunlight was falling on the water, taking the most amazing colors. _

_It was so quiet there. Like there was nothing in the whole world except that fall._

"_Do you like it?" I finally asked._

"_Yes!" Stefan was running around me. "It is amazing!"_

_I smiled to him. "Whenever you feel sad, alone or bad, you can come in here….All this bad emotions will be gone."_

"We _can come here. Together." Stefan said smiling. Then his face darkened. "Promise me that you will never die. Promise me that you will never leave me…"_

"_I promise you not to leave you. And even if I am far way you can come in here and I will always find you Stefan."_

_He hugged me. "Thank you Damon. You are the best brother ever. I promise not to leave you alone either."_

The place is the same. Quiet, beautiful and peaceful.

But I do know that I am not the same I was back then. That boy who was standing here 160 years ago, was certainly gone.

Why did my life turn that way? Where was I? What happened to me? What happened to Stefan? I am not sure if I can blame Katherine completely no matter how much I want it to.

I don't to do this alone again. I wish I had someone who really cared about me, someone I could trust. I know that I seem that I don't want that but that doesn't meant that's the truth.

As someone had said, sometimes you put up walls not to keep people out, but to see who cares enough to break them.

I am still captured in my own prison.

Elena got pretty close to break those walls but still she isn't mine but she is Stefan's. She wasn't the one I kissed and I am sure that she wouldn't let me do it. Cause she loves _him_.

I decide to stare at the water for a while, before I return back.

_Elena_

I don't know where exactly I am or how I got here. My head is bleeding.

The last thing I remember is coming home after Founder's day.

"Jeremy? Are you wake?" was the first thing I said when I got in. I was planning to go check on him before I go to the hospital so I headed upstairs.

What stopped me was a sound coming from the kitchen. I had to see what it was.

When I got there I screamed. I saw a lot of blood on the floor and on the kitchen table. Then I saw John lying dead down.

I headed to him and the next thing I remember was a sharp pain in the head and then…waking up here.

The door opened. Instinctively I crawl to the nearer corner of the room I am.

"Hello sweetie. My apologies for hitting in the head and the capturing. I wouldn't

have done it if it wasn't necessary." A female voice say.

When I look at her voice I shiver. It's like I am looking at a freaking mirror.

She was wearing a dark jean, a dark red t-shirt that was up her neck and a

leather jacket. Her hair was exactly like mine, but more formed.

She was like a perfect copy of me.

That may be only one person.

"Katherine?" I say in doubt even though I am quite sure that she is her.

She smiles and she comes to my level.

"Yeah, this is me. Amazing isn't?" Katherine says warmly and she strokes my hair.

"What do you want?" I ask flatly.

"I have to say that Damon is way much better than the last time I saw him." She says, ignoring my question. "You didn't know him then, but…"

"What do you want Katherine?" I repeat.

"The only problem is that he's in love with you." Katherine says in a way like she was talking about something completely irrational. "You should have been there. The way he was looking at you, in this case it was me but he didn't know that, the way he kissed me…"

"What?" my voice sounds like a square. "Did he kiss you?"

"Well, he thought he was kissing you, but…technically yeah he kissed me." She

smirked.

"Oh my God!" I snap. "Why…did you pretend that you were me?"

"Because, my dear, he would kill me instead of kissing me. Is that a good reason for

you?" she says and I can clearly see a tone of anger in her voice. "I am pretty sure that Stefan still loves me. You know what they say…absence makes heart glow folder" she adds smiling.

"What do you want?" I ask one more time.

"What do I want?" she asks back like she didn't understand the question.

"Why are you here? Why are you pretending that you are me? What do you want

from Damon and Stefan? What. Do. You. Want?" I yell.

She grins.

"I just want to play"

_Stefan_

Elena was kinda different last night. She came to my place and she said that she wanted to just spent the night with me. She greeted me with a great kiss and she acted like we were away for a very long time. We just slept together though. I mean we literally slept together. This morning she brought me a bottle of blood at the bed and a delicious French toast. In general, she was more…flirty with me than usual. I can't say I didn't like that. She just left the house, heading to Alaric and I almost miss her…

What worries me is Damon. I have to see him since the fire. In which by the way he would die if it wasn't Elena. Ok, maybe Bonnie did it, but still she did if for Elena. I don't know how should I feel about that. Don't get me wrong. I am glad that Damon is ok but…what if Elena has feelings for him? I know that I have to trust her but once bitten twice shy.

I know that what happened with Katherine wasn't completely Damon's and my fault, because she was using her compulsion on us. But I have to admit that maybe I would stay with her even if she wouldn't compel me. Anyhow, love triangles do exist and I don't want to be part of one.

I decide that's better to talk to Elena about it. To make sure that she loves me and not him. I have to say again to Damon that he has to stay away, no matter what Elena will tell me.

Oh God! I should be sounding extremely jealous.

My phone rings. It's Elena.

"Hey Stefan" she says.

"Hey to you too. You missed me?"

"Of course I missed you. Can I see you? Please?" she pleads.

"What? You just left Elena."

"I know but I need to talk to you." She sounds serious, so I agree on meeting her.

One hour later I met her at a café, near the hospital.

"What is wrong?" I ask.

When my gaze meets hers, she looks down guiltily.

"I did something wrong, Stefan" she whispers. I hold her hand to relax her.

"Tell me what is it?" I ask her gently.

"I love you so much." She almost whined.

"I love you too. You know that. What's wrong Elena?"

She looks at me. It looks like she was fighting inside if she should tell me or not.

"Tell me…" I ask softly but I am dying to know.

"Damon kissed me." She tells me.

I gasp and I drop her hand. "What?"

"I am so sorry, I told him that I love you but he kissed me anyway. And I didn't move away Stefan…" she is sobbing now, but I am so pissed off right now that I don't care.

"What? How could you do that? How could he do that?" I almost scream and I get up. "I'll…kill him. Why did he do that to me?"

"Stefan please…" she begs me trying to make me sit down in vain.

I run out of the café to my house.

So history repeats herself. And Damon hates me. He does. And Elena…she betrayed me. How could they do that to me? How…

I don't know how but I end up at the falls. I can't hold my tears any longer when I remember what this place used to be, once upon a time.

I go straight to the cave. When I get in I gasp in shock.

Damon is here. He doesn't seem to notice me. He stands on the other side of the cave staring at the water. Is he…crying? No it can't be. I have never seen Damon crying since he turned into a vampire.

Then I am full of anger again. I run to him and I would have throw him in the fall if he wouldn't move.

"What the fuck Stefan?" he yells pushing me away.

I punch him then and then again and again until he manages hold my hands. He pushes me to the ground.

"What the hell is got into you?" he yells.

"You don't know? You kissed her Damon!" I yell back and I try to stand up but Damon holds me to the ground.

"She told you that?" he says with anger.

"Yes she did. Don't tell me that it's not true, cause I won't believe you! Why did you do that to me? You know that I love her so much so why did you do that? Why did you betrayed me, Damon?" I whine. I don't want to sound like that so I close my eyes and I'm trying to take control of my emotions and especially of the way I sound.

Damon gets of me and he sits near me, resting his back on the cave's wall. He is looking at his hands, in order to avoid looking at me I guess.

"I am sorry…" he mutters.

I gasp. He never apologies.

"She loves you. Not me. No matter how much I wanted to be the other way around, it isn't. Don't worry, she's yours." He whispers.

Somehow that makes me feel sad and angry at the same time.

"That's not the point Damon!" I shout "The point is that you kissed her when you knew how I feel about her and after what happened with Katherine!"

"How about how I feel Stefan?" he finally makes an eye contact with me. "What about what I want? Did you ever think of that?" his voice sounds strange, hurt.

"Of course" I say, not sure if that's true.

"I know you think you are a Saint" Damon begins but I cut him off.

"I am not a Saint!"

"Most people believe that you are. You spend your whole existence blaming events or people for your life's direction. You were with Katherine and you stayed with her even if you knew that I loved her, because she compelled you. You surrendered to the blood and turned into a vampire because the blood was exposed to you. You turned me, because you didn't want me to die. Later, you hated me, because I was mean. You tried to kill me, because I was a danger. You are with Elena, because you love her and she loves you and you are Mr. perfect and that's what she deserves. You drunk human blood because Elena forced you to. You tried to kill yourself, for the town's sake. You made it pretty clear to stay away from everyone and especially Elena, because you were their friend and her boyfriend. people!

And you don't even admit that you did all these things for yourself. You loved Katherine and you were too proud to leave her to me, you fed because you were so afraid of dying and so thirsty of power and eternity. You turned me , because you were too scared to stay alone. You are with Elena, to get over Katherine, to prove to me that you are better and because you love her. You tried to kill me because you hated me. You hate me because I am not what you want. You wanted to die cause you were just tired and to get forgiveness from Elena. You want me to get away from her, because you are afraid of losing her. So I ask again! What about what I want?" Damon doesn't get his gaze of me. He sighs . "Does this place mean anything to you?"

I say nothing. I don't know what to say. I just stare at him which is the worst thing I could ever do.

My brother kept looking at me for a couple of seconds pleading me silently to answer. When I remain silent, he shakes his head and gets up.

"I have to tell you something, but I need you to remain calm and do as I say" he says in a completely different tone. I don't answer.

Damon rolls his eyes.

My phone rings. It's Elena.

"Hey…" I say in a low voice, hoping that she heard me.

"_Stefan? Where are you?"_ she asks warily. _"You didn't….do anything, did you?"_

"Like what?" I wait for her to answer. "Oh…No! I didn't…do anything ok?" No I didn't kill Damon.

She takes a deep breath. "Thank God! I really didn't want to be like…Katherine, Stefan."

"You are not Katherine." I say.

I hear Damon giggle. "Of course not." He mutters.

I can't understand what he means by that so I decide to ignore his comment and continue my conversation with Elena.

"Can I come over?" she asks.

"Ok. We need to talk anyway. I wait for you, home." I say and hang up the phone.

"Yes, Stefan, of course she can come over. It's not that we live in the same house or anything! Or that we were having such a lovely conversation, which was more like a monologue which I am sure you didn't even hear. But…who cares?" he mocks.

I sigh. "Elena is my girlfriend whether you like it or not. She loves me. Past has nothing to do about it, don't whine because you life didn't come out as you expected to. And if you really did anything for me, for what I wanted, you wouldn't be with Katherine…you said that she never even compelled you. That means that you knew that she was with me too. But you were still sleeping with her! And it's not my fault that she chose me in the end Damon. I am not responsible for Elena's choice either. If you can't deal with it, you are free to leave Mystic Falls. It would be the best for all of us." I say or rather shout.

Damon frowns. "Whatever."

He is about to leave when he freezes. He turns around to look at me. "You know, what? I'll leave." He announces with a smile like he had the most perfect idea ever.

"What?" I didn't expect him to agree.

"I said I am leaving. Tell that to your beloved Elena. Maybe you'll be able to spend more time together if I am gone" Damon says and he grins.  
"Are you mocking me?" I ask as it's the most likely answer.

"No, no!" he snaps. "I am leaving. As a matter of fact I am leaving right now. Bye-bye Stefan!"

He doesn't give me the chance to answer or even to react as he leaves.

I didn't expect him to leave and I certainly didn't expect him to be happy after me talking to him like that. Weird.

Either everyone got an alternative personality or I am missing something…

**PLEASE REAVIEW :D**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

**Saturday-Sunday**

**MAY 26-27**

"**It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to your enemies, but a great deal more to stand up to your friends." **

**Dumbledore, Harry Potter**

_Katherine_

I think that Elena's brother is turning to a vampire. Ops. Elena won't like that. She won't like what I am gonna leave behind either but who cares?

"Are you ok?" I ask her brother.

He frowns. "Why? Do you really care?"

"Of course I do…You are my brother, Jeremy" I say as much persuasive as I can.

"Sure you do…" he says. He looks at the ground and then at me again in a way that shows that I won't leave in the next hour. I sigh. I didn't come to Mystic Fall's to play the good sister.

"Have you ever thought of being…a vampire?" he asks hesitatingly.

Well duh! 400 years ago…

"I don't know" I say stiffly instead.

"What if I wanted to be one?" he continues.

"Why would you want that?" I ask but I don't really care.

"Because I don't want to feel alone and in pain." Jeremy says more like whines.

"Well….If you are vampire you can't feel that, I know. But you have to kill people…are you sure you can do that? For the eternity? Eternity is a very long time, Jeremy, believe me. And eternity eventually will bring loneliness too…" I say and I head to the door.

"I am." Jeremy says.

"You are what?" I ask but I already know the answer.

"A vampire." He explains.

I pretend to be shocked for a minute. "Have you complete the process?" I ask

"I…have already drunk Anna's blood and I have…you know…die." He says, apparently surprised from my reaction.

"You need to feed to become a vampire." I announce to him. "I will bring you some blood from the hospital. And a ring so you can walk at daytime"

And I am doing this why? I ask myself. As I see Jeremy's eyes, I add "I am not going to let you die, Jeremy. But I really have to go. You stay here and you know…don't kill anyone." I say and I leave in order to avoid any further conversation.

_MAY 24, 2010 ,MYSTIC FALLS _

_A part of my plan was already a success. I got Elena's clothes from the school without meeting anyone she knows._

_I walked to her house, thinking how I can get in. People don't invite you in a house that you already suppose to live in. But I am not worried. I'll find a way. I always do._

_I was outside the house when Damon come out. Wow. He was so different than the last time I saw him. He was dressed in black and I really liked it. It would be a lie if I say that I didn't miss him. Besides, he's the main reason I came back. Well, one of the main reasons._

"_What are you doing here?" I asked._

"_A failed and feeble attempt to do the right thing" he said in a sad way._

"_Which was…?" I asked in case I was supposed to know that._

"_It's not important. Let me take this over here." He said avoiding my gaze. He offered to take the bags I held from my hands to help. So cute. I never saw Damon as the cute hot guy. I was certainly taken under surprise._

"_Thank you." I said my gaze on him. That was the beast everyone was saying I created? He is no monster at all._

"_You know I came to this town, wanting was to destroy it. Tonight..I…found myself wanted to protect it." He said slowly not believing what he was saying._

_I wanted to say something but I couldn't. Me? Not knowing what to say. Wow._

"_How's that happen?" Damon wonders. I open my mouth to say something but he continued. "I am not a hero Elena. I don't do good. It's not in me."_

"_Maybe it is" I said. I couldn't help smiling. Well hell it is. At least for Elena._

_He smiled too in a sadder way. "Not. That's reserved for my brother, and you_

_And Bonnie. Even though she has every reason to hate me she still helped Stefan, to save me."_

"_Why are you sound so surprised?" I asked. Really. Why not? I would save you. Right now._

_I crossed my arms._

"_Because she did it for you." He said in a vulnerable way that…._

_Somehow even though I knew that he wasn't talking to me but to Elena, I felt so nice, so flattered and surprised. The boy I left, was a man now._

"_Which means somewhere along the way…" he came closer to me "You decided that I was worth saving." His voice broke a little in the end. "And I wanted to…thank you… for that." Damon said in the same way. I was looking at his eyes that I always loved._

"_You are welcomed." I said still smiling. I found the whole vulnerable, sad thing even more attractive and interesting. He leaned his head and he kissed me in the cheek. This was nothing like Damon. Maybe I didn't knew him well but…Even I was surprised and felt defeated, unable to move away. Before I get something more at least. I am wondering how Elena would react to that._

_Damon's head is close to mine. His gaze was trembling between my eyes and my lips. I do the same as he leans his head even closer. He was about to kiss me but he was hesitating. I didn't move, giving him a chance to do whatever he wanted._

_It was like he was afraid that 'I' would run away and he would lose something that he never really found._

_His lips finally touched mine._

_The kiss was completely different from our first kiss. He was gentle and passionate at the same time…Like it's over before it even started,_

_While the kiss became more passionate he hold my face and I wrapped my hands around him and then-_

_The door opened and the kiss broke._

_Damn it! Who the…_

"_Hi" I said simply._

_Elena's aunt, I couldn't recall her name, was staring at us. _

"_It's getting late. I think you should come inside" she said coldly and apparently shocked and surprised by her niece's actions._

_At least I had got my invitation._

_I picked the bags I had and I got inside as fast as I could. Human fast I mean._

_What Damon did after that….I don't know._

_But I know that he wasn't kissing me. He doesn't love me anymore._

_He loves Elena._

_And of course I won't just let her have him._

"Hey Stefan!" I greet him kissing him slightly. "Is…everything ok?"

"Yes…I didn't kill Damon, if that's what you mean, Elena" Stefan answers in a way that shows that he's still mad about the kiss.

But why is it so difficult for him to understand that I may just want them both? Isn't that enough for him?

"You don't have to be mad." I say

"Don't you see what's happening here? 1864 all over again" he mutters.

"It's not 1864 Stefan." I say coldly, showing that I am offended by that.

Well that's true. Granted I still want them both, but whatever…

"Do you love him?" he asks.

That's what I don't like about you Stefan, I think. Jealousy and insecurity.

"No. Of course not." I say and that's true too. I don't love him, I just really, really like him. "Do you love her?" I ask like out of nowhere.

"What? Who?" Stefan asks but I am sure he know who I mean. Me.  
"Katherine."

"Why would you say something like that?"he answers almost nervously.

Nice answer.

"Assuming that she was back what would you do then?" I am starting to like that game…

"She is not back, Elena and she won't be. Besides I love you." Stefan answers and he attempts to kiss me.

I step back. I want my answers first.

Poor Elena, she never gets the answers she wants from him. Not that kind of answers at least.

"What if? It's not something impossible, you know...Isobel showed up, so…"I pause in case he answers me but if course he stays silent so I continue "Would you leave her to Damon?"

"What?" he sounds more surprised than any other question.

"You have me. You love me. Damon loves Katherine. Would you let him have her?" I specify my question.

"I don't k…Katherine is the one who gets what she wants. It doesn't matter what Damon or I prefer." He whispers.

I smile a little. Well that's true. At least you know me.

"And what do you prefer?" I insist.

"Being with you" he says finally.

I end up our conversation with a kiss. This is the end he wants as well.

Oh, Stefan…you have no idea what game I am about to play…

But I promise you one thing…you are gonna love it!

_Damon_

"I know you don't like me but I need your help" I say to her.

Bonnie rolls her eyes. "Just because I saved you once doesn't mean that I will always do" she warns me.

"I don't care Bonnie. Kill me let me die I don't care." I sound kind of desperate but that's what I am. That surprises her. "What I do care about is finding Elena"

"What do you mean finding her? She is not lost." She asks in curiosity.

I sigh. "Well, have you seen her lately?"

"No…Not after the fire, but I have talk to her." Bonnie says but I think she sees that something is wrong.

"Katherine is back, Bonnie" I brush out.

She gaps. "What?"

"She came at the Founder's Day."

"And Elena…? Where is she?" she tears up.

"I don't know…I know that she's alive though. Katherine is able of a lot of things but I don't think that she would kill Elena, or Stefan. But you don't have to show her that you know about it. Please" I plead her. "I need your help to find her. Please"

"Yes…of course." She says looking straight to me like she is trying to find the solution to my eyes. "Give me your hand" she says.

"What for? Just find something that belongs to Elena and locate her" I protest.

Bonnie rolls her eyes again. "Just give me your hand Damon."

The last time I touched a witch she made my head hurt like hell, but I hope this one has other things in mind.

She touches my hand and she closes her eyes. Then she jumps back.

"What? What happened?" I ask warily.

"No-nothing" she mutters. "I…have her scarf. I will locate her now."

She goes to another room.

Ok. What the fuck was that? What was the whole hand thing if she couldn't trace her by that?

I have shut it though if I want her to cooperate with me. She wouldn't leave Elena helpless but she would leave me.

I follow her to the next room. She is holding tight Elena's cloth and she's whispering a spell.

"She's at the old school" she announce suddenly.

"You found her? Wow. You are amazing!" I smile to her and she is surprised by that too. "I am gonna find her."

"We are going to find her. Together." Bonnie corrects him.

"No, Bonnie. If you come it means that you know." I say.

"So?"

"So Stefan and Elena will die. I took a big risk by coming here, already."

"But you said-"

"I assumed. Please. I will bring Elena back safe. I promise." I say as much persuasive as I can.

Bonnie doesn't respond. She narrows her eyes. Then her characteristics lighten and she nods.

"You can't beat them alone, Damon…You need someone with you." She says.

"I have someone in mind" I grin and I leave.

I can see that Bonnie would do everything for Elena. She even trusts vampires and me who has every reason not to. That's what friendship is, I guess.

I wonder if someone would do ever something like that for me…

I wonder if I could die for someone else…I would kill for sure, but…die?

"Hello, Alaric!" I smile when he opens the door. "How are you?"

Alaric rolls his eyes "What do you want me to do?"

"Why would I want you to do something? Can't I just want to know what my lovely friend is doing?" I mock Stefan behavior to Elena's friends.

He makes a sound which was like a laugh. "Well, what can I do for you, my lovely friend?" he mocks me.

"Do you want to see where you would work if you were in 1950?" I suggest.

Alaric narrows his eyes. "Why?"

"It's where Elena is" I say seriously this time. Alaric's expression changes. "She is at Mystic's Fall's old school. There are probably too many vampires there and I can't kill them all and take Elena outside. So please…will you help me?" I ask him.

Alaric sighs. "Ok."

We are on the road to the school.

"I don't want to add a problem, Damon, but where is John?" Alaric asks.

"Who cares?" I say.

"Well, you do, if he's dead."

"I don't give a shit, if he's alive or not. He tried to kill me." I mumble.

"Yes, but..don't you remember? He said that if he would die, the Court would learn the truth about you and Stefan." He says slowly.

I freeze. That was exactly what I didn't want now. The Court hunting us down.

"Let's hope that he's alive then. Besides, we have to find Elena now with or without them wanting to kill me." I say and I walk faster.

We arrive at Mystic's Fall's old school. It's like it came out from a horror movie.

Alaric stays still staring at the building, probably thinking what the hell is he doing here.

"If you don't wanna come, just say it. Don't hold me back" I say stiffly.

He doesn't respond. Either he ignores me or he is thinking about it.

I sigh. "Are you scared?"

"What? No! I am just…What if…I don't know, man…" he pauses. Oh, God I don't have time for these…

"You know that I hate vampires right?" he finally says.

I rise my eyebrows like saying _so?_

"I hate that they delete their past lives. I mean how can you do that? Just delete things and move on just like that? What's the point of eternity if you are all alone?" Alaric says, looking straight like he was speaking to an invisible audience. But I know that he was referring to me.

"Well, I had my fun, even if I was alone."

"You didn't chose it Damon. Katherine forced you. You thought you would be with her, that's why you wanted to become a vampire. You didn't chose to be alone. You wanted an eternity with the woman you loved. I can't believe I am saying this but this isn't that irrational" his voice is low and it seems that this isn't his point.

"Look, I know that is weird that you watched your wife being a villain. But that's…us. Vampires…No matter why we turned, we are vampires. Which means that we live in the darkness. And when you adjust yourself to the darkness there is no way back."

"Darkness is relative" he says.

I smile "Is that from a book? _My sister's keeper_?"

"You've read that?"

"No." I lie and I walk into the building. "Hush now."

We enter in a big corridor. There is water all over the floor and papers on it and on some old desks.

We walk wall to wall checking every single room.

I hope this isn't a death mission for either of us. Not before finding Elena at least.

I think I am willing to kill even Katherine to save her, which is the funniest thing ever.

Two months ago I would die for her and now that she's back, probably for me, I want to kill her...

Maybe, after all, I wanted her back just to be able to move on…

_Alaric_

I walk wall to wall.

The house is too fucking dark. For humans at least, because Damon beside me seems to have no problem at all. He is few steps in front of me, to check the ground. He has better chances to survive a vampire attack than I do. He can heal fast.

I stop for a second to rest and think about what is happening.

It sounds ridiculous, I know, but right now, I feel more alive than ever. If anyone told me 4 years ago that I would love to hunt and save people from vampires with another vampire - who by the way turned my wife and tried to kill me- I would have laugh and leave. But now…

I grin as I realize who stupid my life is and how much I enjoy it.

"Stop grinning like a fucking psycho and keep walking!" Damon whispers.

I want to answer back but I see someone behind Damon who sticks him with vervain. He falls down. I look at him helpless for a second and then I feel a sharp pain in the back of my head.

Everything goes blur.

I wake up, tied with chains in the wall. I try to move, but I can't. I am trapped and my head hurts. I groan.

"Don't do like a baby!" Damon mutters from beside me. I take a look at him. He is in the pretty much same situation as I am.

I don't know what to say. I know that it's partly my fault for being caught so I decide that's better to shut it.

Damon, thank God for that, doesn't say anything either. He just tries to break his chains, cursing as he fails.

"I am sorry" I murmured. I know my voice was lower than a whisper, but I know that he listens as well.

Why do I apologize? I am angry with myself.

"The men of my life…until now." A female voice says, which of course belongs to my ex-wife.

Damon rolls his eyes. "Isobel. What a lovely surprise."

"Aren't you glad to see me?" she asks getting closer to him. Leaning her head to his.

"No" Damon responds flatly moving his head backwards to avoid her.

"You were glad a couple of days ago….And frankly I was expecting more after that amazing night that we shared" she smirks , half-looking at me.

It takes me a few moments to get what she meant.

I blink. I turn to Damon. I so want to kill him right now. I look at him furiously instead.

"You slept with her?" I ask rhetorically apparently. I expect a stupid, mocking answer from him but all I get is a guilty look and a simple "No..."

I hear a giggle.

"Well, technically we didn't sleep at all" she smirks.

If I wasn't chained, I swear to God, I would hit her.

"Do you really wanna do whatever we did the last time we were alone Isobel? Cause now you are way too far from the limits." Damon smirks at her.

What the hell is he talking about?

Isobel ignores him.

"I am sorry, baby." My ex says coming to me. She sits on my lap. I try to move in vain. "Your time is up"

She slowly removes the ring from my hand although I tried my best not to. "I don't like you anymore."

She says and she shows her fangs to me. Isobel leans her to my neck. I close my eyes. I am about to die.

"Don't" I hear a voice shouting. Isobel steps back. She must have found it very amusing as she laughs.

I gasp as I realize that it was Damon's voice. As I can see he is surprised by himself too.  
"Don't what?" Isobel asked, still laughing.

"Don't…kill him" Damon says hesitantly.

"Why not?"

Damon stays silent for a few seconds. "Because killing humans is wrong"

"Says who?" Isobel smirks.

"My brother."

"Well your brother is an idiot."

"Don't talk to him like that" Damon says more seriously this time.

I suppose Isobel took that as a challenge as she gets closer to Damon again. Her lips is really close to his.

"Why what are you gonna do?" she whispers to his ear.

"I am going to make him analyze you the rest of his theories." Damon responds smirking. Isobel laughs.

Even I laugh. How can he make jokes all the time?

"Good one" Isobel comments grinning.

Suddenly she gets serious. Angry, I can say.

"I thought you were in our side, Damon. You betrayed Katherine! For these filthy humans! That was the message. You didn't get away from Elena, as I wanted and I am gonna kill you for that." She promises through her teeth. "But not now. You have to play the game till the end." She says and she disappears.

When she leaves the room our chains break automatically.

Damon sighs. "She's completely nuts! Which is weird cause the last time I saw her was perfectly normal, for a vampire at least. What the hell is got into her? Is that part of Katherine's plan? Why would she give you a ring if she wanted you dead?"

He sounds like he thinks loud. He adds some other questions but I don't listen.

I still can't believe what had happened. "You…saved me" I say out loud.

Damon stays still. "I didn't do it for you. I just love to piss her of" he defends himself, which I find pretty funny actually.

"What?" he asks.

"Most people lie to cover a bad thing they did and you lie to cover a good thing?" I say giggling.

He looks at me for a second and then he gets up.

"I told you I wanted to piss off Isobel. I also wanted to use that quote I read. If these facts lead to your saving, it's not my fault" he says and he looks out of the door carefully.

I just smile to him, as I am sure he won't admit that he saved me.

He suddenly turns on me. "If you ever tell what happened, to anyone, anyone, I'll kill you. Got it?"

I laugh. "Got it."

Damon narrows his eyes and then he steps out of the door.

"Damon!" I whisper grabbing him from the arm.

"What the hell do you want?"

"I think we should stay here." I suggest.

"Great! Stay" he smirks and gets completely out of the room.

I roll my eyes. Ok, he's annoying. He can't be serious for more than 10 seconds. Or less.

I walk out with him, praying that nothing with fangs will attack me.

I also have to find my ring back as soon as possible.

Strange how I miss something, two months ago I was unaware I had. I guess that's what power and immortality does. You are the king of the world.

God, what am I thinking?

I sigh, putting my hand into my pocket, so I can forget the ring for once and for all.

It's better to leave immortality to someone who is strong enough to handle it.

_Stefan_

Something real weird is going on. Something really weird.

My first clue was my brother's behavior. He talks a lot…he analyzed to me the problem he had with me, a reason why he hates me –which I find stupid and untrue-. Damon never talked with me about how he feels. He used to when we were humans but since Katherine…that changed for both of us.

Secondly Elena. She smiles or better smirks a lot and…I don't know. She seems different. She hasn't mention Damon at all which is also weird. But I guess that's the best she can do. I mean I can't just not blame her too for the kiss. Maybe Damon is a dick but he would never kiss Elena if she didn't want it. I have to admit that.

I decide to call my brother to ask him, but I am sure he won't tell me.

I call him anyway.

"What?" Damon's voice sounds weird. He's whispering and gasping.

"Damon? Where are you? I need to talk to you" I say.

"It's not the right time." He says even in a lower voice.

"It is for me. Come here. Now." I insist.

"Is Elena there?" Damon ignores me.

"Are you kidding me?"

"Just tell me." He whispers. I hear someone else's voice in the background and some footsteps. "Stefan, be careful! She's-" he gasps and I hear someone screaming. Then the line's dead.

A couple of minutes later Bonnie visits me.

"I'm taking a big risk….but I think you should know. I think you have to help."

"Thank God! I am not crazy! You think that something is wrong too?" I breath out.

Bonnie narrows her eyes. "I am serious Stefan"

"I know, Bon. Tell me." I say lowly.

"Katherine's back."

"What?" I gasp. I almost fall to the ground. "What?"

"She's back, Stefan"

"Oh my God! Where…is she?" I say leaving a big space between the words.

"She's pretending to be Elena" Bonnie announce.  
"What?" I yell. "How long?"

Bonnie looks down. I throw whatever there was in the little table besides us down.

"How long?" I repeat.

"Since Founder's day."

"And how long do you know it?"

She hesitates for a minute and then she replies "Since yesterday night."

"What? And you are telling me now?" I don't know in what volume my voice is but I don't care.

"I am sorry." She simply says.

I walk aimlessly for a while and then another questions comes to my mind.

"Where is Elena?"

"That's why I need your help. Your brother-"

I gasp. "Did Damon know about this?"

"Yes but-"

"I am gonna kill him" I laugh nervously - more hysterically I have to say. "He's dead!"

This time I mean it.

Then my cell rings.

It's him.

"The speak of the Devil" I say before I pick up the phone.

"Stefan listen" Bonnie pleads but I don't.

"Oh hey Damon" I say, pretending to be calm.

"Stefan listen to me" Damon's voice sounds curious.

"Why?"

"What? Stef list-"

"Whatever it is I don't care. Go to hell Damon" I cut him off.

"I need your help! Just freaking listen to me for a second!"he is whispering but he has his yelling tone.

"No, you listen to me! I thought for a moment that I…cared about you, but you don't deserve that! All that was a fucking act for Katherine? Seriously? She left you. You are pathetic! And I hate you!"

I don't hang up. I so want to hear what mocking comment he has after that.

Damon tries to say something but I hear I moan. Then a female scream but I don't know whose.

I freeze for a second. "Damon?" I say hesitantly.

"Hey there" a woman talks instead of him.

"Isobel? What are you doing?" I say full of surprise.

"I am doing well" she mocks.

"Where is Damon?"

"He can't talk right now." She says and she probably smirks.

I focus so I can hear Damon likely laughing for messing with me, but I hear a moan again and a man's voice -I can't tell who that is- to ask my brother if he is ok.

"Where is Elena?" I demand

"Here. You'll see her soon, don't worry. She's ok." Isobel answers in my surprise.

"What about Damon?" I insist.

"Well Damon he is going to be punished." Isobel says carefully.

"If you _touch_ my brother-" I snap but she interrupts me.

"Whoa, tough guy" Isobel mocks."Besides I am not gonna do anything to him. You, on the other hand."

"What?"

Then I hear Bonnie's scream and I feel vervain passing through my veins.

_Elena_

_20 minutes ago._

I feel too weak. A vampire drunk from my blood. I am sure he did it without Katherine's permission, because I heard him telling how afraid he was of being caught but that my blood was worth it.

I remember calling Alaric but he probably won't come.

I don't know how much the vampire drunk but I feel too weak. Too cold. And sleepy.

I just wanna go home. But I am wondering where that really is. I am not sure with who I feel safer, calmer and happier right now…I don't know…

I hear the door open, but I close my eyes. I want to react, to do something, but I can't. I feel tears streaming to my face but I make no sound as that is going to give that vampire more satisfaction.

"Elena?" a familiar voice shouts. "Damon!Over here!"

It was Alaric. He come after all. I don't open my eyes though.

In moments, I feel Damon standing beside me. He turns me around gently.

"Oh my God!" he gasps out when he sees the blood running from my neck to my left arm.

I manage to open my eyes.

"Hey…It's gonna be ok…" he says and he strokes my face. I close my eyes again, trying to capture that moment.

"Damon…" I say weakly, looking at him. I can't see clearly but I am so glad that he's here.

I close my eyes again.

"No! Elena! Look at me" he says shaking me a little.

I do as he says. He bites his hand and he's offering the blood to me.

"No" I mumble.  
"You are not turning to a vampire like that. You know that! Just drink. Please" he begs.

I am undecided for a minute and then I drink.

It feels so nice, even though I didn't expect it. I feel stronger and more alive than ever. All the pain is gone! I drink more and more. Until Damon removes his hand.

Gently he clears my mouth from blood and he smiles to me.

"You are ok now." He says.

I fell on him and I hug him. I start to cry. "Thank you so much. I was so scared Damon. I thought I was gonna die. There many things I still wanted to do"

He hugs me back and he's stroking my hair. I hug him tighter. "I thought she had killed everyone. I thought that if she didn't kill me she would torture me forever. I thought…I thought that she would leave with you and Stefan and…."

His hands cup my face in a way so he can look at me. "Now, you are ok" he says calmly and he smiles. "Say it…"

"I am ok now…" I force a smile.

We look at each other's eyes for a while until Alaric shouts Damon's name. Damon moves slightly back, but I grab his hand and I hug him again tighter. "No. Please don't leave me. Don't leave me." I beg. I can't be alone in here again. I can't.

Damon looks at me and he says "I am not gonna leave you. I promise. But we have to go now, ok?"  
"No…they are going to caught us." I mutter in a low voice.

"We can't just stay here, Elena. We have to go…" Damon says gently.

Alaric shows up in the door. "We have to go, they are coming!"

I stand up with Damon and we go to the door when a man grabs Alaric.

He throws him in, Damon puts me behind his back so I can be protected.

Luckily it was just one vampire. Alaric stabs him with vervain and he falls down.

"Thanks, you helped a lot" Alaric mocks, stroking his injured hand.

Damon forces a smile and we finally get out of that filthy room.

I am so grateful I come out of that room that I don't pay enough attention to Damon's struggle to walk.

Alaric seems to notice it more as he looks at him, undecided what to do.

"Are you ok?" I ask.

He nods and he forces a smile.

Damon suddenly stops walking. "Hide. Someone's is coming." He whispers and he grabs me from my shoulder. We hide to the nearest dark corridor.

One woman and a man are walking. Fortunately they don't notice we are here.

"So what do you think she's gonna do?" the man asks.

"I don't know…She's capable of anything. Katherine is willing to sacrifice anyone to get what she wants. Even the youngest Salvatore" the woman replies.

Damon and I flinch.

"No…He's one of the things she wants so…." The man argues. I hope that's true.

Damon walks further to the corridor we are hiding. He calls Stefan but all he says is _Stefan listen to me_, cause I guess Stefan doesn't let him.

"Damon, shut up! I think he got it when you call him before" Alaric whispers but Damon ignores him.

The two vampires come to our side. "Damon!" I yell but he still doesn't move.

"

Then he drops his phone. I don't know why.

When I look at him, I wince.

Someone had stab him under the chest with a wooden stick.

"No.."I scream.

When Damon falls to the ground, I see Isobel.

She slowly gets Damon's cell phone and she talks to Stefan.

But I don't listen to her. I crawl to Damon, who is unconscious.

"Come on, wake up" I whisper, almost crying. "Damon…"

Alaric, who's held by the man stares at Isobel. Then he looks at Damon who –thank God- is now awake but not completely healed. Why does it take too long?

"Are you ok?" Alaric asks.

Damon nods, struggling.

Isobel finally hangs up. She smirks looking at Damon.

"Guess who's coming!" she says.

"Screw you" Damon snarls.

Isobel laughs at that. Her expressions changes when she looks at me.

"I told you to leave them. Why didn't you listen? You have no idea what Katherine is going to do Elena." She says in a worried voice.

"Why are you helping her?" I ask in vain.

She leads us to a new bigger room.

Damon is still bleeding and that's what worries me the most.

I don't know where this is going to lead, or what I will lose but I know that I'm glad that I am not alone. That I have someone to take care of me, until the world collapses.

But what happens if he dies because of me? What will I do then? I just can't…

What is this? Do I have feelings for Damon?

Am I becoming Katherine?


	4. Chapter 4

**I know it's been too long since my last chapter, sorry.**

**Chapter 4**

**Sunday 27**

**Afternoon**

**I don't want to hear the sound, of losing what I never found…**

**Down, Jason Walker**

_Alaric_

I wake up in room which probably used to be the school library, cause there are some books in the bookcases.

My head hurts a little, since the stupid vampires hit my head on a desk. I am so glad that I didn't die from that.

I sigh and I look at Elena who is over Damon, trying to wake him up.

I am wondering if I have to tell her the truth about Damon or not. I mean, will it help?

_Two hours ago, Mystic Falls' old school_

_We had already checked the first floor room by room, but nothing. The building seemed too freaky empty. Like there was no one else here._

_Damon seemed to hear something and he waved me to be silent. _

_Then his phone rang._

"_Seriously?" I yelled at him "You could put that on mute you know!"_

_Damon didn't even look at me and he picked up the phone. I rolled my eyes._

_Why in the hell am I doing this? I thought. It's not my problem. Elena is a good girl, but…it's not my problem. Damon doesn't deserve my help. Or does he? I mean he is not as bad as he wants to be, he would die for Elena and Stefan, and that's something. I have no one to die for…_

_Damon was talking to the phone, probably with his brother._

"_I didn't expect you to bring company" a woman who had magically appeared in front of us said. Before either me or Damon could react she did something with her hands, like she was releasing a magic power and she made my stomach hurt like hell. I fell to the ground wrapping my hands around my stomach. I slightly looked up and I saw Damon trying to attack to her but she stopped him just by rising her hand._

"_Who the hell are you?" he asked her, his gaze between me and her._

"_My name is Kristin" she said calmly. "I am part of the play"_

"_What play? Are you crazy?" Damon snarled. _

"_You'll see. But I am sure you are gonna like it" Kristin said warmly._

"_Stop doing that!" he demanded looking at me. Kristin followed his gaze and when she saw me groaning she smiled. Suddenly the pain was gone. I breathed out._

"_Done" she said. _

_Damon sighed "So what do you want?"_

"_Do you like humans?" she asked with a coy smile._

"_Define." Damon said coldly_

"_Do you sympathize them?"_

"_Hell no"_

"_Too bad." The woman said walking around Damon "Cause you are gonna be one." _

"_What?" he gasped. _

"_In two hours. You'll be human. Not forever but for the time you are in here. So be careful!" she said happily. "You don't wanna die do you?"_

"_How…Why?" Damon mumbled. "You can't do that."_

"_We'll see about that" she said. "But I need your permission first."_

_Damon's face lightened and then he giggled. "We are on Supernatural or something? Well then I don't give it to you"_

"_Well then I'll kill your brother." she mocked his voice. "And your human friend over there"_

"_You are bluffing" he snapped._

"_Are you willing to risk it?" she smirked._

_Damon closed his eyes. "If I won't be a vampire the moment I am out, I'll kill you. That's a promise" he said after a while._

"_Damon, I don't think that's wise" I protested._

"_I don't remember asking you what you think" Damon said to me and I rolled my eyes._

"_You have my permission." He said. Kristin grinned and she grabbed Damon's hand and quoting a spell._

_The next moment she was gone._

_Damon seemed kinda dizzy._

_Oh, great! I haven't got my ring and in two hours he won't have his immortality and vampire power. How are we supposed to survive like that?_

"_Oh come on, Damon! She wouldn't kill Stefan. And if she wanted me dead she would have done it already. But I am sure you didn't do this for me so why did you do that?" I complained._

"_I'll be fine" he muttered and he started walking. Or rather trying to walk._

"_Who cares about you? How are we supposed to find Elena and save her without your powers? How are we supposed to get out alive, ha?" I kept complaining, while I was following Damon._

"_We have to do that before in two hours and we'll be fine. And if you are worried about your safety, you can leave Alaric." Damon said flatly I felt like it was the moment I had to shut up but I didn't._

"_Look" I said in the most calm and sad way I could "If I won't make it out, if I die…" my voice sounded like I was in those drama films. Damon stopped walking, he turned on me and he looked at me dully. " I blame you entirely!" I finally said I smirked and I passed him to get upstairs. _

"_Very funny!" Damon whispered and he followed me._

As it seems that two hours have passed. I am wondering why Kristin would give him that much time until he turns in human. Maybe she wanted him right here, right now. Maybe she needed him to find Elena. Part of the freaking game, I suppose.

"Why isn't he healing?" Elena asks warily.

"About that…." I begin.

"What?"

"He's human now. A witch made a spell which turned him to a human, until we are out of here. The spell would have affect two hours after we met that woman and that time has apparently expired." I try to cover every possible question.

"What?" Elena gasps.

"Damn it, Ric!" Damon mutters. At least he's awake and not… dead.

"Oh my God!" Elena cries

"Thanks a lot!" he says to me sarcastically " Don't tell Stefan, ok?" he demands and I nod.

"I am so sorry, Damon…I am sorry!" Elena whispers.

"What are you sorry for?" Damon whispers surprised.

"Because I've put you through this. You came here for me, didn't you?" she says in a low voice.

"It's not your fault. Katherine is just a selfish bitch." Damon's voice was weak but in some way seems to comfort Elena.

"How did you know that she wasn't me?" Elena asks.

Oh yeah! How did you know? I mean I know the main part, but I don't know the beginning. I have a theory though.

"I…I talked to her and I….I…just knew that she wasn't you." Damon says avoiding Elena's gaze.

"I know you kissed her, Damon" Elena says.

I knew it! I kinda feel sorry for him. But I think that if it was Elena it would be worse. She's still his brother's girl…

Damon gasps. "I…" he looks down.

"It's ok" Elena says in way that didn't sound ok at all, but I suppose she wants to get the rest of the story.

Damon closes his eyes "Because you would never kiss _me_. No matter what happens, no matter what I say. You love Stefan, not me. We are just friends after all remember?" he laughs in the most sad way I've ever heard, if that's possible. "You would never chose me. And because you aren't Katherine. The way she reacted, the way she looked after we….kissed….was different. Cause Katherine no matter how much she tries isn't something very important that you are, so…"

I can't clearly see Elena's face but it seems like she's looking straight at Damon's eyes, searching for an answer.

"She isn't what?" she asks in a voice lower than a whisper.

"She isn't….you" replies and he half-smiles to her.

Elena gasps and then she smiles back.

Oh God….I don't think this is going to end up well….For no one.

_Damon_

I don't know why but that brings tears in her eyes. But it isn't sadness.

She leans her head closer to mine. I don't move. I can't. I don't want to. She leans further to kiss me. She closes her eyes and I close mine lifting my head a little bit so I our lips can touch. But then I stop.

We can't do this.

I can't do this. To Elena. Even to Saint Stefan. I won't turn her into Katherine.

But what I am afraid most is that she's won't ever be here. She won't ever like me.

I put my fingers on her lips instead, preventing the kiss.

"No…Please." I say weakly. I know I can never have you. I don't say that loud.

She takes my hand on hers. She stays close to me.  
"Why?" she asks.

"Do you love Stefan?" I ask. I want more than anything the answer to be no.

"I…I do but…" she says hesitantly.

"Then don't do that." I say and I move slightly back.

"Why not?"she asks in a broken voice "I want…"

"Because" I cut her off "You will return to Stefan and I don't want to…lose what I never really found."

Elena cries silently now staring at me and I look anywhere but her.

Then she stands up, wiping her tears. I can't watch her like that, but I can't….I can't get hurt again. I can't.

I smile a bit when I see Alaric. It must be so awkward to him. He pretends to read a book, holding it upside down. The book is too old and he tries to keep it from falling apart.

The door opens.

We all look at that direction at the same time.

A vampire throws someone in. It's Stefan. I am not sure if he's just unconscious or worse so I try to crawl to him. Thankfully he's not far. When I am 5 inches away, he wakes up and he stares at me confused.

"Oh, you are alive" I say flatly and I crawl back to my corner.

Elena runs to him. "Stefan!" she kisses him.

"Oh now you can run!" I mutter.

"Why are you here?" Alaric asks.

"For vacations." I say rolling my eyes. "What do you think?"

"How did you know that she was Katherine?" Elena asks, wrapping her hands around his neck.

"Bonnie told me." He responds.

Elena lets go of him. "So you didn't know by yourself?"

"How should I know? She was exactly like you!"Stefan defends himself.

"Damon could tell the difference, Stefan." Elena mutters.

"And he didn't tell me! Do you have any idea why Elena?" Stefan says narrowing his eyes.

Elena looks at me. I roll my eyes.

"Enlighten me." Elena says rising her hands in dramatic way.

"Because he wanted us to fight for that! Because he wanted you for himself!" Stefan shouts. You got it, Sherlock! I swear that if I was still a vampire I would have kill him.

"I am not a fucking property Stefan! And I am not stupid!" Elena yells.

"I know you are not! I am not blaming _you_ Elena. I'm blaming him!" Stefan points at me.

I hate it when people talk about me, in front of me pretending that I am invisible.

"I am here!" I say but no one seems to listen.

"He's trying to tear us apart, don't you see? I thought he…he had changed. But he hasn't. He's still trying to make me miserable."

"I can hear you, you know!" I say loudly.

"Even if that's true I would never cheated on you with him! I am not Katherine! Even though you can't tell the difference!" Elena says trough her teeth.

"He's capable of thinks you can't imagine!" Stefan replies.

"I am still right here! Am I invisible or something?" I say loud to my brother and her but they keep arguing "You can see me right?" I turn to Rick.

He looks around the room, like he heard a voice and he couldn't tell where it come from.

I laugh a little, which makes my wound hurt. I am not sure if I can tell whether the pain I feel is normal or not.

"Enough" Alaric shouts suddenly. We all stare at him.

"What?" Stefan asks.

"You know I hate Damon, because he is just a jerk who turned my wife and killed me but you can't blame him for everything! Especially after what he did for you!" He murmurs something about how I doomed him too with my stupid actions while he's getting closer to Stefan.

"Shut up!" I snap and I am trying to get up but I can't. Damn it!

"What did he do?" Stefan mocks.

Alaric narrows his eyes and if I could read his mind I am sure I could hear a lot of swearing.

"He didn't tell you about Katherine, because if he did you and Elena would die! And he's human now! He could just say no to the witch, but if he did you would die so…." He shouts to Stefan.

"Wh-What?" Stefan's voice sounds more like a breath and not a word.

"Alaric, please tell me" I say as calmly as I can "Which part of 'don't tell Stefan' wasn't clear enough for you?"

The teacher rolls his eyes and takes a deep breath. "I am just trying to help."

"Well, I don't need your help!" I mumble.

"You certainly don't deserve it" he mutters.

It's really annoying that I have to sit down all time and watching them standing up, like in some way they are better and overpowered than I am. But I can't get up, cause it hurts.

I think I am more emotional now than before too. I mean….I rejected Elena, because of…what?

Humans are so annoying, pitifully and irrationally moral that I can't stand them. Now I have to be one of them. How can I adjust to something that died 146 years ago?

"You did that for me?" Stefan asks. It seems that, that's the second time he asks cause Elena, Alaric and him they all are staring at me, waiting for an answer.

"Are we still on that?" I complain.

Silence.

I sigh "Why would I do anything for you, brother?". I am doing my best to make it sound sarcastic.

"You did it to save me." Stefan says. "To save _me_. Which means you don't hate me."

"How in the hell did you come up with that conclusion?" I say through my teeth.

Luckily for me, someone gets in. I didn't to have that soul searching conversation again with St. Stefan. Besides it hurts when I talk.

A woman that I've never seen before comes in.

"No." Stefan answers coldly.

"It wasn't a question."

"No." Stefan repeats.

The woman uses her vampire speed to grab Alaric. She puts a knife in his neck, threatening to kill him.

"Come with me Stefan" she demands.

I try to get up but for once again I can't.

"You are bluffing!" Stefan supposes.

"I am not. That's why I chose him. Because I don't care if he's dead or not. So come with me or he dies." The vampire says cutting him a little bit in the neck. Alaric moans.

Stefan stays silent staring at them.

"Stefan go with her" I say. What could she possibly do to him? She won't kill him or hurt him, cause Katherine likes him. All she can do is try to seduce him.

"Please" Elena whispers.

Stefan nods and Katherine finally lets Rick fall down.

They both go out.

"Are you ok?" I ask.

"I am fine" Alaric matters. The way he spoke reminded me someone who held a gun and he was ready to shoot whoever talked to him.

"Thanks" Elena says. "For helping"

Alaric smiles and he finally gets up.

I feel too sleepy suddenly, so I lean my back and head to the wall and close my eyes for a while. My wound hurts a lot and I feel kinda numb. I feel like I am finally sleeping after a lot of days.

I don't know for how long I slept if I slept at all and I feel someone shaking me slightly trying to wake me up. I try to open my eyes but I can't…I just want to sleep.

That person shakes me harder. I hear Elena's voice distant.

I open my eyes but I can't see clearly.

"I know it's difficult but you've got to stay awake!" Alaric says.

"Why?" I say in a low voice.

"You are bleeding. If you sleep you'll die" he explains and I think that he's worried.

I shrug. "You care?" I say trying to convince him to let me sleep.

"I do" Elena snaps. "Please, Damon, don't…Don't do this to me…Please" she starts to cry.

"Look, just wait until Stefan is back" Alaric says. "He'll give you his blood so you can be healed. Just hold on ok?" his voice is slow or that's how it is to me.

"I can't…I just wanna sleep." I whisper.

"If you do that you'll die" Alaric says.

"If that's what it takes to sleep…" I don't know if he heard me or not but I don't care. It's not that I wanna die, cause I don't, but staying awake seems pretty fucking impossible. Maybe I won't even die. If I was bleeding that much Stefan would have freaked out and attacked me or just play Saint as usual, pointing out that he can resist in human blood.

Another reason why I believe I won't die is because it doesn't feel like it. I have done this before. I remember it clearly.

I remember me, being over Katherine, trying to untie her. I heard people coming but I tried to focus on what I was doing, but I was really scared. Then I felt a sharp pain in my stomach which made me lose my balance and fall to the ground. I remember Stefan coming over me and I had one last look at Katherine who was…what? Sad, scared, shocked? Did she know that I was gonna turn? How would she feel if I had die? How would Stefan feel? I lost so many things that summer…Katherine, my brother and myself. I can't get anything back.

"Damon!" Alaric's voice breaks my thoughts and my sleep probably.

"What?" I say angrily.

"Just don't freaking die!" he yells.

"Why?"

Alaric stares at me for a second. He glances at Elena who is walking at the room crying.

"Cause I wanna have the satisfaction of killing you myself." He finally replies and I chuckle.

"Besides, no matter how pathetic that sounds, I depend on you. To get out of this amazing place you brought me."

"If I were you I would have let you die." I say, but I am not sure if that's true or not. I don't wanna know. I don't want to feel more human than I already am.

" Been there done that. You were watching me die, which I have to say was really creepy." He responds, but I don't look at him. I look at Elena.

She had come beside me – I don't know when exactly- and she is holding my hand. In a miraculous way that makes me stronger. It gives me a reason to live.

When I first saw Elena I thought_: I finally found a human version of Katherine. They are the same. Like clones. _But when I got to know her I've found out that she is everything Katherine wasn't. She managed to bring to the surface what Katherine had buried.

_Elena_

How am I supposed to deal with this?

What if Damon…dies? He can't die…I…can't handle this…

How am I supposed to deal with the fact that I have feelings for him? I would have kiss him. I am not like that.

I don't know if it's love or…I don't know. What I know is that he's not just a friend of mine…

But I won't ever be with him, cause he's Stefan's brother. I can't do this to them. I can't be Katherine. I don't want to be her.

"Elena!" someone shouts. I turn and I see Stefan who just had come in. He runs to me and he kisses me. "I love you so much" like we never had that fight before.

"I am sorry to interrupt this monumental reunion" Alaric says sarcastically in a way that reminds me a lot of Damon "but we have a little problem here."

I flinch. "Oh God Stefan! You have to help him!"

Stefan doesn't move and he stares at the wall behind me like he was too scared to look someone else.

"Stefan!" I shake him slightly. "You have to give your blood to Damon"

"I can't" he whispers still looking at nothing.

"Correct me if I am wrong but we didn't exactly asked you." Alaric whispers.

I hear Damon trying to laugh, but what comes out is a really low sound.

"What?" Alaric snarls turning to Damon.

"Nothing…It's just that since you came here you are a whole new person. You make sarcastic comments and…" Damon's voice breaks at the end because he coughs and I run to him.

Stefan opens his mouth to say something but he regrets it.

"Look…I don't know what happened between you, Damon, Elena, Katherine and whoever and I really don't care. But if we want to get out of here alive, we need Damon. He has lost a lot of blood which I am sure you can smell, sense or whatever and the chances are that he's gonna die in less than an hour, unless you give him your blood which can heal him. Do you understand that?" Alaric's tone reminds me the way he was talking to one of my classmates who didn't ever study.

Stefan looks at Alaric for a while.

"Stefan…please…" I whisper.

Without looking at me he walks to Damon and he bits his hand and he makes his brother to drink even though he didn't seem to want to.

Damon's completely ok a few minutes later. Thank God!

As a matter of fact he seems really better.

"Soooo…..what are we gonna do now?" he asks looking at all of us.

"We have to get out of here" Stefan says in distant voice, which worries me.

"Really? What makes you say that?" Damon replies. When he sees Stefan's lost eyes he rolls his eyes and sighs. "There is a door back there so I suggest to check that out. I don't think it leads to anywhere but whatever."

"What I think is most important is to figure out what Katherine wants from you. What's her plan. We can't win or even escape if we don't what she wants to achieve and most importantly what she's willing to sacrifice to get it." Alaric says crossing his arms.

"See? That's what I am talking about!" Damon says and he rises his hand for a hi-five but no one responds.

"I am serious." The teacher mutters angrily.

"Yeah, I know that's what I said. But I wanted to make it more fun…." Damon pauses for a moment "What's wrong with me?"

"Everything" Stefan whispers.

"Excuse me?" Damon's tone is completely different than before.

"I said that everything is wrong with you." Stefan turns to Damon now.

"Stefan!" I shout.

He smiles at me. "Can you and Alaric go to check the next room please?". He sounds like my mother, not my real one, who told to me and Jeremy to go to our rooms and play when she and dad had something 'just for grown-ups' to say.

"I am not a child Stefan!" I say full of anger.

"I just need to stay alone with him for a minute." Stefan says warmly. "Please."

I glance at Damon over Stefan's shoulder waving at me and Alaric not to leave the room. I sigh "Ok."

"Thank you! Thanks a lot!" Damon mumbles.

Alaric hesitates for a minute, he rolls his eyes and finally gets out of the room. I follow.

_Stefan_

"We need to talk." I say.

Damon narrows his eyes "Your need, not mine."

"I have to tell you something."

"I can't avoid that, can I?" he asks adding a smile at the end.

"I wish it could be avoid. Believe me." I begin.

"Oh, what is it? Did you kill any kitten?" Damon jokes.

"She's not dead Damon" I announce.

Damon stares at me. "Who is not dead?"

_Two Hour Ago-Right after they caught him_

"_What do you want from me?" I yelled trying to get a vampire off of me.  
"Just wait and see" she said and she leaved the room._

_After a minute an extremely familiar woman showed up. She was wearing a long 30's red dress. Her hair was black long and curly. Where do I know her from?_

_When she looks at me she smiles. "Hello Stefan". The woman comes closer to me and she strokes my face. _

"_Who are you?" I asked but I was afraid that I already know the answer._

"_Don't you recognize me?" she whispers._

"_You can't…." I said teary._

"_There is a reason your dad hated vampires, sweetie." She says in just the same tone she used to talked to me._

"_I thought you were dead!" I cried._

"_Well, I was a vampire. You have to understand…" she started but I interrupted her._

"_To understand? To understand what? That you chose this over us? How could you do this to me? How could you do that to Damon? Have you….any idea what we've been through since you left? I don't think so!" I was talking slowly like I was in some kind of dream. I simply couldn't believe that this was reality._

"_Sweetie, I am so sorry! I am. But I couldn't make you chose. I couldn't force you to live like that!" her voice was calm. She lifted her hand to stroke my hair but I stepped back._

"_What do you want now?" I said coldly, surprised by myself that I didn't cry._

"_I want to help you." She said._

_I laughed hysterically. "Help me? Really? How?"_

"_You don't see it now, but you have to be through this."_

"_Through what? Katherine? Are you working for her?" I said or rather yelled._

"_No."_

"_With her then? What is it? It has to be something!" I started walking all over the room pointlessly. _

"_Katherine cares about you." She said slowly like she was trying to pick up the right words._

_I laughed again, but this time it sounded more sarcastic than before. "You have a different aspect of what is caring."_

_She opened her mouth to say something, but I wasn't finished._

"_Katherine compelled me to be with her. She was attractive and I like her, I can't deny that, but Damon was with her too. And she compelled me not to have problem with that. Then she forced me –and Damon- to drink her blood. A couple of weeks later my father caught her, and me and my brother tried to save her but we got shot. By our father. And we turned into vampires! I thought Katherine was dead. Damon did too and he loved her that much that he didn't want to live without her. He didn't want to be a vampire. But I made him turn. So he had to deal with that for the eternity._

_Nevertheless we realized that we _did_ have a problem with the whole love triangle thing. We never blamed Katherine for that. We blamed each other. We hated each other. For be an obstacle to each other's happiness, for letting her die, for losing her, for losing ourselves, for losing each other._

_Damon knew that she wasn't dead and he spend his whole vampire life trying to set her free. Just to discover that Katherine didn't need to be rescued at all. She was somewhere, free and happy continue her life. But we were stuck with what she left behind. _

_That's _not_ caring!"_

_That was the first time I told those things out loud. God, this was the first time I told them to myself. But now it's too late._

_I looked at her. She was looking at me the whole time. Then she closed her eyes and got a deep breath._

"_I don't want to hear your excuse. Or what you want. What I want is to let me go. If you can't do that just let go back to my cage." I whispered._

"_Stef, listen to me…" she said._

"_Don't call me like that!" I yelled. _

"_It's important not to let Damon know about this. I mean not about how you feel about Katherine and about the past." She continued calmly._

"_Why? Because this could actually fix us?" I yelled._

"_No. Because, I think that you don't know how you really feel about Katherine yet and that will cost you more than you think."_

"_What worse could possibly happen? I've already lost everything." My voice broke at the end. I felt like I was in my brother's shoes. Feeling betrayed, lost, alone. This is how he felt? At least I had Elena….I hoped._

_Isobel come in. I gasped slightly cause I had forgot for a second where I was. _

_I wondered why Katherine made Isobel to do all her dirty work._

"_Time is up" she announced like a prison guard. The other woman I was talking to went out. Isobel smirked."I have however an answer to your question…Think that they are all alive. The people you care about. You don't wanna lose that, do you?"_

_She was threatening me!_

"_Before you go and whine to my daughter or your stupid brother about me or Katherine or anyone, please think of that. Damon still kissed Katherine, thinking that she was Elena. Knowing that you loved her and that you were with her. Damon doesn't care, Stefan. Why do you think he didn't tell you about Katherine? He wants your girlfriend for himself. He's not the brother you loved once. That one died, back in 1864, the moment you said hello to Katherine. It's not Katherine's fault that got separated through the years. She was just a handle. Damon has no redeeming qualities, no nothing. All that act of being good is just so he can get Elena.. " She said smiling and she vanished._

_The problem is that I believe her._

"Stefan!" Damon says in a singing tone. When I finally look at him he smiles sarcastically. "Wanna stop staring at nothing and tell me who in the hell is still alive? But please do both of us a favor. Ask yourself that: _Will Damon care?"_

I take a deep breath and even I know that this is impossible I felt like I could get any air. I have tears in my eyes, despite my efforts not to. My brother's expressions change entirely.

"What's wrong Stef?" Damon asks, in a way that it seems like he really cared.

I don't know how in the hell that makes me tear up even more. I press my eyes with my fingers, in order not to cry. I take another deep breath and without looking at Damon I announce.

"Mom"

"What?" he gasps.

"Mom is still alive"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Sunday 27-Monday 28

Night-Morning

There was a time when you let me know, what's really going on below…

But now you never show that to me, do you?

-Hallelujah, Imogen Heap

_Stefan_

My brother stares at me for a while without saying anything. I don't blame him.

"What? How…do you…how do you know?" he whispers.

"I saw her Damon. She's a vampire! She's here! She…" I don't know what to say.

Damon giggles but I can see that he's really upset. "Of course she's. Why wouldn't she? She…" he leans his head down and rests his hands on the wall. He takes a deep breath. "What did she told you?"

"Nothing. That I have to understand why she did this and that kind of crap." I pause."But I don't…She didn't even say goodbye."

Damon gasps. He shuts his eyes. "She did."

"What?"  
"I think she did say goodbye Stefan…In her own freaking way. I see that now.

I mean she show me the Falls and she told me that I could go there whenever I need to feel close to her, even if she's far away. She made me promise not to…" he stops talking for a second, as if he is searching the right words to use "She made me promise to look after you and that I have to understand that you and I we are all we have."

I just look at him. I am hoping to give me something more. I hoped that he would tell me why in the hell our mother would rather become a vampire than staying with us. But it's pointless.

"You don't seem that surprised" I notice.

"I…am…numb. I don't know…Somehow that..I don't know Stefan." He breaths out. No, he's surprised or rather let down.

This makes it even more difficult for me.

"How is it possible not to know how you feel?" I ask.

"It is…I have… get used to it…People leaving…me" he mutters.

"Of course they leave you. You give them a good reason." I don't know why in the hell I said something like that. But I am so angry right now.

Damon gasps silently. I am fighting with myself whether to say I am sorry or not. I choose the last.

"Says a person who has millions of friends." Damon says finally.

"I do have friends" I reply.

"Really? Name one. Elena doesn't count." He smirks, knowing that I don't have an answer. "See?"

"This is your fault." I blame him.

"How in the hell is this my fault?" Damon says goggling his eyes.

"You killed my best friend, for starters." I say.

Damon stays silent for a second "This was something that had to be done. I told you that. It's not my fault that you don't have any other friends, bro."

"Don't call me like that." I snarl.

"We are still brothers whether you like it or not." He says through his teeth.

"Just in blood. It's just chance that we are brothers, Damon." I say in the same tone.

Damon looks at me with his murderous look. "I know that. What's your problem Stefan? I can still call you Stefan right? Or do you prefer Mr. Perfect? Or Saint Stefan?" He's whispering but it seems like he yells at me.

"_You_ are my problem Damon! You destroy my life and you make it seems like you are the victim here!" I yell and I don't care if Elena or whoever listens.

"_I_ pretend to be victim? _I_?"

"You were whining about how I don't care about how you feel and that everyone is leaving you!" I mock Damon's voice in a much higher tone.

"I don't tell that to the whole world in contrast with you!" he yells.

"Why are you whining to me then?"

Damon looks at me saying _I can't believe this_, with his eyes.

"Oh you are so mean! Why do you talk to me like that? I have done nothing wrong!" Damon mimics me.

"Give me a break Damon! You destroyed everyone's lives and then you whine about doing this for Katherine or how she chose me instead of you! Elena chose me too. Get over it!" I shout.

"I can see that you're talking but all I can hear is a continuously mimmmimimimimimimimimimimi…" he answers.

I roll my eyes. "You haven't changed at all, have you?"  
"Of course I have. But I still don't like you. You don't like me either. You would kill me, I would kill you. Our father did kill us in the past. Our vampire mother is alive and she didn't give a shit about either of us all this time. We are a very happy family!" He says and I make an attempt to answer but Alaric and Elena come in.

"I haven't been happier to see you" Damon says to Alaric.

"We didn't find anything." Elena says to stop the fight or whatever we were having.

"Duh! Not that we stayed deliberately there so you can have this pointless conversation" Alaric mutters.

"I can hear you, you know" I say.

"I don't care." He whispers.

"You don't like me at all, do you?" I ask.

"Oh my God! Is there one person in the whole universe that don't like St. Stefan Salvatore. This is so unbelievable. We have to alert the media. God, even Katherine will be surprised and let us get out here! Oh my God! Alaric, how in the hell is it possible not to like Stefan? I mean he's is perfect…He's so…" Damon's sarcastic voice and smile turn to serious expressions. "Give me a break Stefan!"

"You know what? I should have let you die after all!" I yell. I regret it the next second but he doesn't need to know that.

Besides we don't have any time to discuss further, since the door opens for once more.

I can't believe who's coming in.

"Jeremy?" Elena gasps.

Jeremy was standing at the door observing us. He was different though.

I don't like that.

_Jeremy_

I take a look at all of them. I gasp when I see Mr. Saltzman in the room too.

Elena runs to me asking if I was ok but I push her away.

"I am fine, Elena. More than fine" I say to her smirking.

"What do you mean? Why are you here?" she whines.

"Cause Katherine told me that there was something that I had to do." I explain.

"Katherine? Oh, God Jeremy! Don't trust her…she's a"

"A vampire? I know." I interrupt her. "But I do trust her. Cause you know what? She told me the truth."

"What did she tell you?" my sister asks in order to prove to me that I was wrong.

"Well, honestly she lied to me at first. She was pretending to be you. But the next time I saw her she told me everything."

_3 days ago_

"_Here. Drink that." Elena offered me a bottle full of a liquid that looked a lot like blood._

"_Really?" I narrowed my eyes. I didn't expect her to accept my choice that easily. "Where did you find it? Damon gave it to you?"_

"_Just drink it, boy" she opened the bottle and she brought it near me._

_I didn't resist any longer. Besides I wanted it so bad, so I drunk._

_A couple of minutes later, I felt completely different. I felt…happy, in some way._

"_Now, we have to talk." Elena told me._

_I nodded._

"_I am not your sister."_

"_Yeah, you have already told me that you are adopted." I said._

"_No, silly. I am not Elena."_

_I gasped "Who are you then?"  
"I am Katherine."_

_I remembered Anna telling me something about her. That both Damon and Stefan were into her and that she was the one to turn them. _

_I decided not to tell her that I knew to check if she is a pretty little liar like my sister is._

"_Who?"_

"_Let's say that I am Katherine ansestor. That's why I look like her." She paused "You know my boys."_

_Her boys? Oh…Stefan and Damon. Oh my._

"_Damon and Stefan?" I managed to say. I can't say I wasn't shocked. But I was feeling so numb that moment._

"_Yes. I knew them back in 1864 and I am the one who turned them." She bragged. "But I couldn't stay when your ancestor and his friends tried to kill me. Damon and Stefan died to save me, you knew that?" she didn't wait for me to response. "But I couldn't stay. You don't need to know why. What I want now is to have them back. One of the things I want."_

"_And what do you want from me?" I asked, surprised by Elen- Katherine's honesty. Most of the facts were confirmed by Anna._

"_I want you to co-operate with me. What do you say?" she said._

"_What do I have to do and what will I get?" I asked hesitatingly._

_She smiled. "I will teach you how to adapt and I will give you a ring to walk to the sun. I can make your friends and family to feel however you want them to feel about your change. And I am telling you the truth, in contrast with your sister."_

_That was true. _

"_All you have to do is to pretend that you are going to kill someone I'll tell you. And you may need to kill a human too. But only if it's completely necessary. So what is it?"_

"Oh my God, Jeremy!" Elena whines again.

"Don't be such a drama queen, Elena" I say coldly.

"Why are you acting like this?" she asked.

"Because you lied to me when Katherine said the truth. Because I am a vampire now and I have nothing to do with you!"

"Katherine is not a good person" Stefan says.  
"I didn't ask you." I say without taking my gaze from Elena. " It's my life, Elena. Don't mess with it anymore. Katherine can help me, not fool me."

"Shut up Jeremy!" Damon says through his teeth. He's coming to my side and pushes Elena slightly behind.

I don't know why but I kinda respect the guy especially when he came over a couple of days ago to tell me about Anna so I don't protest and I wait for him to talk.

"Listen. I've been where you are. Well kinda of. But I am pretty sure that Katherine asked for something that you will regret to give. The worst thing is that, this thing may look unimportant to you right now, but a few decades later you will realize how wrong you were. I am not telling you about being a vampire. You may love that. But there is always something you have to leave behind, something you have to sacrifice in the way." His voice is low but the way he talks convinces me that he's telling the truth.

"What did you lose?" I ask.

Damon opens his mouth and he glances to the rest of the people in the room and then he takes a deep breath.

"None of your business. I want to help you. To adapt. But you have to stop trusting Katherine. Don't you see where I got from trusting her?" He says.  
I glance to Elena who is looking at Damon impressed. Mr. Saltzman seems impressed too. Stefan is rolling his eyes.

"I am sorry. But I have to do something first. Then…I'll quit." I say to Damon.

"It's not football practice to get out whenever you want to!" he hisses.

"You have to come with me. Both of you." I say to Elena and my history teacher, ignoring Damon.

"They aren't going anywhere with you." Damon snaps.

"It's not your decision. Step away." I say flatly.

"No." he protests.

"It's ok Damon." Mr. Alaric talks finally.

"I don't care about you." Damon says turning his head to him.

"That's a good thing." I smile. "Cause he's probably going to die."

It sounded kinda cruel but who cares?

"What?" they all say in one voice.

I chuckle.

"Then it's not ok." Mr. Saltzman says.

"I am sorry." I say seriously this time looking at Damon and him. "Don't worry about Elena. They won't hurt her." I whisper to Damon "I won't let them".

"How about me?" Mr. Alaric says more like sarcastically.

"I am sorry." I say again.

Elena is already at my side. Mr. Alaric takes a deep breath and he steps closer to me.

I open the door.

"Oh come on!" Damon breaths out. "What do you want? What does Katherine want?"

"She wants you and Stefan. But you already know that." I say.  
"I mean" he closes his eyes "what will she gain from Ric's death?"

"That's a test." I mutter.

"A test? A test for what?" Damon asks.

"I can't say."

"You don't know." He smirks. Then his expression changes completely."If you do anything to them, you are over. I don't mean I'll kill you. I mean I will let you in Katherine's hands. And that soon or later will be the end of yours."

How in the hell does he do that? Even now that's he's human he makes me listen to him.

I nod and I take them outside. Before I leave I hear Damon basically screaming but sarcastically this time. "What? No! Don't leave me with Stefan! Jeremy! Please!"

I ignore him of course.

But the point is that I don't know what to do. Who I can trust…

_Damon_

Jeremy left, leaving me alone with the St. Stefan again which is so torturing.

In addition to my upcoming psychological pain due to Stefan's long pointless speeches, I have to worry about them now. Elena and the teacher. I wish I was still a vampire so I wouldn't worry at all. Oh…who am I kidding? I do care. Especially for Elena.

Because all of the above weren't apparently enough, I have to deal with my dead vampire mother sooner or later. I don't think I have completely realized what Stefan told me about her, mostly cause being a vampire and dumping her sons isn't the image I had for my mother. Well, I didn't think that our father would actually kill us either, but whatever. Or maybe it's because Stefan was yelling at me about irrelevant stuff and about how much he wanted me dead. I love my family.

"Why?" Stefan interrupts my thoughts and I whine silently.

"I would ask what do you mean, but I don't care." I say flatly.

"Why are you acting like this?" he explains.

"Stefan, I don't want to talk to you about anything. What don't you understand?" I say raising my hands melodramatically.

"I love Elena. And she loves me back" he says.

"Oh dear God! Why? Why are you doing this to me?" I moan.

"Damon!"

"I know that Stefan! You love each other so much." I say sarcastically, making my voice girly.

"So stay away. Don't try to impress her by being good at her brother and pretending to care about the teacher. Stay away" he demands.

"There are 3 mistakes in your 'demand'. First: I don't try to impress her in any way. Second: I was talking like that to Jeremy because he's probably going to kill us and I wanted to avoid that and third: I don't care about Alaric. I don't even pretend. Oh. And you won't tell me what to do" I reply.

Stefan doesn't appreciate my answer as he throws me at the wall.

"Now, I am stronger than you are." He brags.

"I would have clapped but you have blocked my hands…You are so perfect. So sad that Elena isn't here to see that." I say coldly.

"I really should have let you die"

"Yes you already said that. But you didn't, did you? And why is that?" I say sarcastically.

It's a tricky question. If he answers that he did do it for me, it means that he cares about me. If he answers that he did it for Elena, it proves that he's trying to seem Saint for once more.

"It's not my first mistake" he says.

"Then kill me now Stefan! You have the chance. I am human!" I yell "Or that will disappoint your girlfriend?"

Stefan doesn't say anything and suddenly finds the ground pretty interesting. He is trying to find a smart answer to give I guess. He looks at me finally and I smirk. According to the way he is looking at me he's gonna kill me, let me die or something like that. Did I mention that I have a great bonded family?

I should be hurt by St. Stefan's behavior and his strong will to kill me but for some reason I don't feel anything.

Hell, I don't care if I die or not.

"Time is running out little brother. Kill me now, that you can." I whisper. I don't know why I sound so pathetic. Damn you humanity.

Stefan finally steps back.

"I am not you." He says in a really low volume.

"Hell no." I whisper without moving from the wall. "I wish things were different too. We all do. All those 'what if'. What if you had left me die there? What if I didn't ask Alaric's help? What if I hadn't kiss her? What if you never fed? What if we had never met Katherine? You really can't know that. Whatever happened, happened. Forget what you didn't do then and focus on what you do now. You can kill me now or not. It's your choice Stef. I think we both know that you are not this person. I don't know why you're trying to prove the opposite lately. Maybe because that's what I am trying to do all these years. Believe me…it's pointless." I pause. I am so surprised by myself. That was so out of my style but it was a hell of a speech.

My brother who had successfully avoided my gaze during my lecture now sits down resting his back against the opposite wall.

I am waiting for him to say something, to react somehow, but he doesn't. He doesn't even look at me.

I can't believe I open up to him. Stupid me. There is a reason why I didn't talk to him for a century.

The door opens, which reminds me that I am in a cell and not home.

Alaric and Elena walk slowly in. I run to them, surprised by my own actions for once more.

"Are you ok?" I ask as flatly I as I can.

"Yes. They just talked to us." Alaric says looking at Stefan.

"About…?"

"If we don't do what they say, they'll rip our throats out cause we are filthy humans and that we only exist cause Katherine's orders." Alaric says in a girly squeal voice.

"What are you doing?" Elena asks walking to St. Stefan.

"We play the silent game. I lost but Stefan apparently won. Good for you bro!" I say sarcastically rising my thump.

"I think Katherine's playing with our nerves. I don't know why but-"Alaric says.

"Because she's a psycho bitch." I add "My guess is that she wants revenge cause we don't love her anymore." I sigh

"And why am I involved in this?" Alaric complains.

"Let's say that you are….uhm…I don't know."

Before I manage to say another word I hear Elena "What?"

St. Stefan had apparently told her something that made her upset.

"Why not?" he says forcing a smile.

"What did we miss?" I ask.

Stefan kneels in front of Elena. "Will you marry me?"

I laugh loudly.

I feel like everyone is staring at me so I stop. Not completely but…

"What I thought he was joking." I say, realizing that he didn't.

"How could this be a joke?" Stefan says like he did the most normal thing in the world.

"Well, I don't know…Maybe because we are trapped by Katherine and other powerful vampires, her brother is a new vampire, I am a human, Mom is alive and we are all have great chances to die….I am just assuming that any attempts to show to me that Elena is yours, especially with marriage is….how can I say this…? Totally INSANE!" I yell at the end.

"No it's not. And I didn't ask you or anyone of those you mentioned before. I proposed to the woman I love, Elena." He replies quietly.

"Oh, ok then! Cause I thought that you were proposing to Alaric….So sorry." I say sarcastically. "But I have a question for you….Are you out of your freaky mind?" I shout.

"No." he replies and he turns to Elena again who was staring at me and him. "So what is it?" he asks.

"Stefan…I…" she says after a moment of silence.

"Are you seriously thinking about this?" I ask her and for the first time she disappoints me. She looks down but I keep staring at her. "You know what? Do whatever the hell you want. Maybe you should ask Katherine to be the priest at your wedding. Alaric will be the best man. Plus you will have the honor of having both of your mom and his mom at the ceremony. Get married, have kinds, do whatever the fuck you want. I don't care. I am just out of here." I tell her.

She doesn't look at me at all. Stefan gets in front of her. " It's not our problem that everyone leaves you and you are all alone"

I gasp. If I stay here for more than a second I will kill him. This time I will.

I turn around, I take a deep breath and I stumble to the next room, slumming the door behind me.

_Alaric_

I have never felt more uncomfortable and awkward in my life.

Stefan and Elena don't talk at all.

"I…am gonna talk…to him. Ok?" I ask, but it's not a real question. All I want is to get out of here.

Elena nods and I walk to the next room.

How in the hell I got into this? Like being captured by vampires isn't enough. Now I have to help Damon -who is the one who did this to my wife and he tried to kill me- to deal with the issues he has with his brother and Elena. Great.

Damon is sitting on an old chair, finding the wall pretty interesting.

"What? Do you want to propose to someone too?" he mutters.

I sigh and I take another chair to sit next to him.

"I want no one but you" I joke.

"What do you want?" he asks. I can clearly hear anger in his voice.

"I don't want to stay with Elizabeth and Will. You know from Pirates Of The Caribbean" I joke again

This time his smiles a little.

"We are pretty much the same." I say.

"How so?" he asks, still staring at the wall.

"Well, we both have crazy exes who damped us without even say a word. Our relationships are totally fucked up and we are loners." I notice for the first time, which scares me cause the last thing I want is to turn into him.

"At least you don't have a brother who turned to a psycho when he came here. You don't love his girlfriend" he whispers.

"You love her?" I ask.

He goggles his eyes, probably cause he didn't want to say that loud "No."

"In any way" I breath out. "I do know why we are all alone and everyone leaves us."

"I wanna hear that" he says looking at me for the first time.

"Cause we are too freaky awesome. They just can't handle so much awesomeness." I say, smiling at the end.

Damon laughs.

"Thanks." He whispers.

"Look…We need to be the reasonable ones. We have to find a way to deal with Katherine. And Isobel. And that freaky witch. And Jeremy. Wow. A lot of people." I say.

"I honestly don't know what to do Ric." He says in his sad voice again.

"Ok, but please don't get depressed. At least not now. I know that it's difficult to deal with Katherine, Elena and your brother but…we have to survive. That's what we should think about. Not who dates who. No offense."

"Not taken. You are right. Screw them!" he says. He sits up and then he breaks his chair.

"That would be our weapon." he announces.

I follow his lead and I break my chair too.

"But how in the hell are we gonna get out of here? We are both humans and there are a lot of vampires out there." I point out.

"So? We are team bad-ass remember?" he smiles and he gets out. I follow.

"Hey happy couple! Could you do us a favor and get to the room I was before?" Damon says to Stefan and Elena.

"Why?" Stefan asks.

"Because I said so." Damon says without looking at him "Elena, if you want to join us…now is the perfect time to say it."

"Join you to do what?" she asks.

"To get the hell out of here" I say.

She looks at Stefan and then down. "I can't."

"What do you mean you can't? You will probably die in here!" I shout.

"It's safer here" Elena says quietly.

"No, it's not. We are sitting ducks" I say back.

"Isobel won't allow to kill me." She replies.

"She won't 'allow'? You will be dead in a second if Katherine says so! Isobel is NOTHING compare to Katherine. Hell, even compare to your boyfriend." I shout again coming towards her.

"And getting out there is safer?" Elena asks. Well, it wasn't. But we need to do something. We can't let anyone but us having the control. And I am certainly not letting Elena in the weak hands of my stupid brother.

"You asked me once to trust you. I did. I still do, even if you are acting a little bit weird. But now it's my turn to ask for your trust. So do you trust me, Elena?" I say in a low voice, being a few inches away from her.

Elena looks at me like she did that night she came to my house, telling me that she and Bonnie would help. That was one of the few moments I had with her. She wanted to prove to me that I could trust her, so she put away the vervain necklace, letting me to compel her, to learn the trust. But I didn't need to. I still trusted her even though she had fooled me a day ago. So I come closer to her, wrapping my hands around her neck to put the necklace back. She was looking at me surprised. I said "I didn't compel you in Atlanta, because we were having fun. I wanted it to be real." Because with Katherine it wasn't. Our kiss wasn't. But I didn't know then. "I am trusting you. Don't make me regret it."

Back to the present, Elena takes a deep breath. "I am sorry Damon. I can't come with you. I don't want to." She looks down. Normally I would feel betrayed by her answer but…something wasn't right. I can see that she doesn't mean what she says. I also know that something is wrong with Stefan to. Even though I know he hates me, he never acts like that.

"When, I am out I'll be a vampire. I am coming back for you." I whisper. "Promise me that you will take care of her, until then." I say to Stefan, but still looking at Elena.

"Damon you are not leaving." He replies.

"Yes, I am."

"It's a suicide. Two humans are gonna beat a dozen of vampires? You'll die." Stefan protests.

"You made it clear before that you should had let me die. So don't pretend to care." I sigh "We are gonna be fine, Stefan."

I half smile to him and then I stroke Elena's hair. She closes her eyes. Before she opens them again I am knocking the door, to run my plan.


	6. Chapter 6

**First of all, I noticed that I made a mistake at my last chapter…At the end it's Damon's POV not Alaric's (half of it anyway).Sorry for the confusion…**

**I hope you like this chapter. It's more Damon/Elena than Stefan/Elena (well, I can't help it, I am Delena fan ^^ )**

**Sorry if they are out of character….**

**Please review :D**

Chapter 6

Monday 28

Yet each man kills the thing he loves...

_Bonnie_

I am here for more than a day and no one came to inform me what the hell they want or who they are. Ok, I know that the whole thing is about Katherine, but if I have to be captured by her, I would like to know a little bit more.

In addition to that, I have no idea where Elena and Stefan are. Maybe they are with Damon and Mr. Saltzman. But I am sensing they are not safe.

My magic doesn't work here, which worries me. What if I have-

The door opens. Elena gets in.

No. She's not Elena.

She's Katherine.

"We haven't officially met. I am Katherine." She says.

I narrow my eyes. "What do you want?"

Katherine rolls her eyes "All the time the same questions…I am bored of it"

"Where is Elena?" I ask through my teeth.

"She's at a room, not far from here. But I didn't came here for small talk. I want you to do something." Katherine says smirking.

"There is no way I am doing anything for you." I deny. I focus on a spell Grams taught me. I am gonna cause her pain, as I successfully did on Stefan, when he was off on killing Amanda and probably us. Katherine didn't seem to be affected though.

"What the hell?" I manage to say. The next moment Katherine throws me to the wall and with vampire speed she comes to me and she wraps her hand around my neck.

"I am 600 years old, you stupid little bitch. Your ambra-katambra is not working on me. Do as I say or I am killing every single of your friends, starting from Elena. Got it?" she says, leaning her head to my ear.

Then she lets go of me. I can't breathe. I have never been more scared in my life. I cough to get some air to my lugs but I still can't breathe.

I finally manage to breathe normally.

"Now, listen what you are gonna have to do." Katherine says looking at me.

The worst thing is that I have to do as she says.

Elena is my best friend. I'll do anything for her.

_Damon_

Stefan and Elena went to the next room.

I knock the door, Alaric stands next to the entrance, ready to kill whoever bastard decides to open the door.

The man who had brought Stefan here, opens the door. Thankfully he doesn't see Ric. Stupid new born vampire.

"Wanna fight?" I say.

The vampire smirks. "Where are the rest of you?"

"I can kill you by myself." I reply smirking.

"We'll see about that!" he says and with vampire speed he falls on me and he bites me. Damn it, that hurts. But it doesn't last long. Ric manage to kill him.

"Ok, let's get out of here" I say, covering the wound on my neck with my hand to stop the bleeding.

Alaric nods and we carefully get out, leaving the door unlocked behind us.

We walk wall to wall and I have to admit that it's really dark. The corridor seems empty but neither I or Ric buy it. We decide to walk in the middle of it, having hide our weapons.

"Where do you think you are going?" someone says behind us.

"Do you think that you can get out just like that?" someone else says from the opposite direction. Ric turns around to face the other vampire and I stay where I am, my back against his, having all sides covered.

And just like that, like we were in a movie or something, the vampires attack us but we succeed on killing them. Then everything is quite again.

"It's not over, is it?" Alaric asks.

"No. Stay put."

The next moment, another two vampires appear.

They attack at the same time and we kill them instantly.

But then another one comes. He seems stronger than the others and when he attacks, holding a knife or something, he stabs Ric slightly on the hand. He moans, but we have to keep on fighting.

"You stupid humans! You can beat me." He says smirking.

"We can beat you right!" I say through my teeth.

He smirks and he shows me his fangs, right before he attacks. I step back, but he grabs me and throws me to the ground. He bites me where the other one had, with more strength, regardless to my fight. I scream.

But then the fucking vampire stops sucking my blood. I open my eyes to see what happened and I see a wood coming out of him. Alaric had stabbed him.

"In your face, you stupid son of a bitch!" Ric says right before the vampire falls dead next to me.

He comes closer to me and he helps me up. I take a look around. We had kill five vampires in less than 5 minutes. Wow.

"Would be too immature to say that it was awesome?" I say, grinning.

Alaric narrows his eyes and he reminds a little bit of my brother when I say to him that I drunk someone's blood. I roll my eyes. Then his expression changes to a grin.

"It was too fucking awesome, man! We totally kicked their asses!" he says happily and rises his unharmed hand for a high-five and of course I respond.

"Are you ok?" I say pointing his wounded hand.

"Yeah I'll be fine. Just a scratch." He pause "But that was awesome!" he grins. "God I think I am addicted to adrenaline."

"What the hell are you doing?" a familiar voice asks.

"Bonnie?" I say surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"I was caught along with your brother." She responds. "How is Elena?"

"She's fine. She's with Stefan now." I say.

"You left her there?" Bonnie asks with disappointment.

"I am coming back for her. When I am a vampire again, I am coming back." I say looking down. I hate that the witch can gets into me."Can you help us Bonnie?" I ask gently.

Alaric giggles.

"What?" I ask

"Nothing. This whole thing reminds me of Harry Potter." He says, laughing.

"Are you serious?" I say "How is that has to do anything with that movie?"

"I don't know. I am a little bit anxious, shocked…I don't know. I will just set up." He mumbles.

"Anyway. We are leaving. You are free to join us." I say.

"You can't go." Bonnie says. "Katherine wants to talk to you."

"You work with Katherine?" I snap.

"For now…"

"Too late. Voltemord got her." Alaric whispers.

"What do you mean we can't go?" I snap.

"Mr. Saltzman, you can leave." She says to him, then she turns to me "You have to come with me"

"Come with you where?" I say like she said the most irrational thing in the world. Well, she kinda did.

"As I said Katherine wants to talk to you." She mutters.

"Did I say that I give a damn?" I ask.

"No…" Bonnie says.

"That's because I don't" I say and I turn around. Ric is frozen.

"I can let you go. I am sorry" Bonnie says looking down.

I find it quite challenging. "How are you gonna stop me?"

"With a spell of mine you are down." She responds.

"Why are you doing this, Bonnie?" Alaric talks for the first time.

Bonnie slowly turns her gaze from me to him.

"I have no other choice. You are free to go Mr. Saltzman…Why don't you just leave?" Bonnie says and I can clearly hear a tone of desperation and agony to her voice.

Alaric takes a deep breath.

"Just go, Ric" I say.

He looks at me hesitantly and a little bit surprised of letting him go, I guess.

"I will be out too real soon. Just wait me outside. If you could find me some blood too, it would be great. And a car. And some more weapons. Just go now" I say, smiling a little.

He stands still for a minute, then he nods. "Ok."

He runs to the door and gets to the next corridor.

"So…where are we going?" I ask Bonnie, who the entire time was looking at us, stunned."What's with the gasping surprised face?"

"You and my history teacher are best friends now?" she asks.

"Of course not. I haven't any friends. So he can't be the best of something that does not exist." I reply.

"Then, why is he here?"

"He likes to help. Or he has nothing better to do. Or he hoped he could see his ex-wife again. I don't know." I say.

"Why is it that difficult for you to admit that you are somehow connected to someone?"

"Why is it that difficult for you to set up?"

Bonnie rolls her eyes and she grabs my hand. She starts walking and I follow her.

_Katherine_

The youngest Benet witch, brings Damon in. I smile.

He is my little helpless human again.

"Hey, Damon. Did you miss me?" I ask.

"Not even close." He mumbles, trying to get the witch's hands of him. "What do you want?"

"Do you love me?" I ask mimicking Elena's annoying innocent voice.

"You are kidding, right?"

"You spend 146 years trying to get me out of that tomb, Damon"

"And you weren't even there, Katherine. You betrayed me." Damon says.

"I didn't tell you I was in that tomb." I reply.

"For God's sake! It was supposed to be you and me. That's why I wanted to be a vampire." Damon shouts.

"That was your assumption. Not my fault." I say coldly.

"You did betrayed me. Don't try to turn it on me."

"Yeah, right. I am Judas, what can I do?" I say sarcastically.

"No you are not. Judas had the decency to hang himself after what he did." he says through his teeth.

"You want me dead, honey?" I ask smirking.

"Hell, yeah."

"That means you don't love me. Too bad." Oh, you do love me.

"Why Katherine, do _you_ love _me_?" he asks with the same tone he had when we had 'our' first reunion kiss.

"No. I love nobody. Nothing personal." I reply, coming closer to him. "But I do like you. And we both know that you like me too."

Damon looks at me silently. He opens his mouth to say something but he regrets it.

"Did you forget how much fun we had back in 1864?" I say smiling. I slowly caress his face, noticing that he's been bitten. He moves my hand away."Do you want to join me?"

"Join the Dark Side, ha?" Damon smirks in a low voice.

"Oh baby, you joined the Dark Side, when you slept with me. What I can't understand is why you don't want to be with me anymore. It's because of this filthy human, Elena, right?" I ask, without hiding my feelings for the woman who stole my boys.

"Elena is far more better than you are and you will ever be and you know it." Damon answers with a smirk.

"Why don't you like me anymore Damon?" I insist. I sound desperate. I don't like it.

"Because you are a bitch, Katherine" he says. This time I lose control and I drink from the wound on his neck. Damon tries to resist, but he has already lost a big amount of blood so he stops trying after a while.

"Stop it! You said you wouldn't hurt him!" I hear the witch screaming.

I drop Damon down, still conscious but weak.

"I promised your mother not to kill you, but since you don't longer want to be with me I have no desire to keep that promise." I say coldly to Damon. "Your brother has already agreed."

"What?" Damon whispers. "Did he agree on being with you again?"

"Kinda. Be with me or I will kill you." I say.

"Are you that desperate?"

"I want what belongs to me Damon. You are one of those things."

"For fuck's sake! No. Kill me." He says. So stubborn.

I narrow my eyes. I take a knife from the table behind me and I step closer to him, in order to finish him.

"Please…don't." the witch is begging.

I ignore her.

"Are you really willing to die for her?" I ask.

Damon doesn't answer. But I know the answer, just by looking his eyes.

"Fine, then. Bye-bye Damon!"I say and I lean to stab him and-

"Whoa-oh! Wait!" someone rushes into the room.

"Ric? What the fuck are you doing here?" Damon gasps.

Ric? Who the fuck is that- Oh yeah. He's Isobel's ex husband. I stare at him angrily.

"Hello." He greets, laughing nervously. "I was wanted to say hi, before I go…Plus the door was locked. And I want my ring back…"

I start walking to him. He steps back, still with this stupid smile. "I was also wondering if you could let him live…?" he asks hesitantly.

"Are you willing to take his place?" I say through my teeth.

He takes a minute to think about it. "If you give me my ring back…yeah!" he giggles pointing the ring I have on the table. I don't remember if it's his or John's but either way I am not gonna give it to him.

"I will count to three and you are out of here." I warn him.

"With Damon and Bonnie?" he asks.

"No. I will kill Damon and I will take Bonnie as my servant." I reply.

"Oh…but why?"

"Because I said so. Isn't that enough?"

"Well of course it is. I was just wondering what you are going to gain from his death."

"None of your business." I reply. I take a moment to look at him. If he wouldn't be so annoying, I would say that he is attractive.

"Why do you care about him? Is he your boyfriend?" I smirk.

"Amusing." He says forcing a smile. "I notice though how beautiful you are. I like you. So…will you add me in your list?" he suggest making his voice flirting.

"Hmm…why not? But you have to know that you won't have me exclusive." I say.

"I don't mind….Now, how about a test drive?" he says coming closer to me.

"Come and test" I say smirking.

I glance at Damon who is looking at me with mixed expressions of disgust and surprise.

"Payback is a bitch, Damon" Ric tells to Damon before he kisses me, moving back until I touch the table.

But then as I expected, everything went wrong. He pulled a wooden stick and he tried to kill me. I grab it and I drop it down, away from Damon and him. Instantly, I take my knife and I stab him in the stomach.

"God!" Damon gasps. The witch screams.

"Did you think that you can fool me? You are nothing but a filthy human to me." I say as he slowly fells down.

Damon is frozen, looking at Ric, surprised by what just happened.

"That's what happens, when you mess with me." I say at both Damon and the witch.

"You said that you won't hurt anybody!" the witch- Oh, I have to learn her name- yells.

"I didn't hurt _anybody_. I hurt _him_" I say sarcastically staring at the witch.

"Yes but you said…" she cried.

"I know what I said." I say stiffly, stilling looking at her.

"You are right, Katherine. I am sorry" Damon says in a low voice.

"What?" Is he telling the truth?

"I said you are right. I was just mad at you, cause you left me. But I do love you and I do wanna be with you. As we planned. Tell to that little witch of yours to make vampire again." Damon says.

"Are you lying to me?"

"No, Katherine. I've killed a lot of people to be with you. And I don't care." He replies trying to get up.

"What about Elena?" I ask.

"She is just a substitute Kathy. You are the original. You are the one that I want." He tells me. He steps closer to me and I let him kiss me. The kiss isn't as passionate as our last one but I like it.

"I don't want to feel like this anymore, Katherine" he says breaking the kiss. "I want to be a vampire again…"

"You understand that this doesn't affect what happens to your brother and your human friends." I clarify.

"I don't care about them."

"They don't care about you either. Didn't you see how your brother doesn't care about how you feel? He hates you. Elena loves him. You are all alone. So sad." I smirk.

"All I need is you." he says after a moment of silence.

"Prove it to me. Finish him." I say pointing at Ric.  
Damon glances at him. "Ok."

"What? Are you crazy?" the witch whines again.

"I don't care what you think Bonnie." he says. Oh Bonnie! Right!

I give him the knife and then he stabs Ric who is unconscious. Instantly he's again looking at me.

"Done." He says coldly. "Make me a vampire again."

I look at him happily. "Kristie!" I summon her.

She comes in after a minute.

"Undo your spell" I order her.  
She nods smiling and she says something in Latin. Damon fells down and I see his neck healing.

_Stefan_

Why? Why am I so affected by Katherine's return? Why couldn't I just kill her when I had the chance?

When Katherine wanted to talk to me, I expected to be able to tell her how much I hate her. How much she ruined my life even if she wouldn't care. If I had the chance, I wanted to kill her.

But I didn't do any of those things. I was looking at her, realizing how much I had missed her, even though I could 'see' her through Elena. I missed her smile most…

"_Wanna be together again?" she asked._

"_No." I simply said avoiding any eye contact with her, as she would compel me._

"_Why not?"_

"_Are you really asking? After what you did?" I said letting the anger come out._

"_You are right. I am not asking. You are mine. I made you" she replied, annoyed by my tone._

"_The fact that you made me vampire, without asking of course, has nothing to do with that." I spilled out. _

"_I always get what I want Stefan. Always…" she said sounding creepy "I want you to do something for me" she demanded._

"_I won't do anything for you" I snapped._

"_Oh yes, you will. Or I will start killing the citizens of the town one by one" Katherine smirked._

_I winced. I knew she was capable of such a thing. "What do you want?"_

"_I want to you to hurt Damon." She said grinning this time._

"_What do you mean?" I asked._

"_I want you to show him how much you hate him, -which isn't true, I am sure- and I want you to show him that Elena is yours and that she won't ever be with him…So he will be more vulnerable and he'll surrender to me." Katherine said, more like she was talking to herself being so proud about her plan._

"_Are you insane?" I asked "Elena won't ever be with Damon, either way"_

_Katherine laughed "Yeah, right!"_

"_I am not gonna it anyway. Why do you want to break us so much?" I yelled this time._

"_Who? You and your pathetic brother? I can't break something that doesn't exist, honey" she replied calmly._

"_Thanks to you." I mumble "I am not gonna do it."_

"_I am gonna start to kill then!" Katherine said. Then she sighed. She came closer to me and she stroked my face. I found myself unable to move away._

_She whispered to my ear…"You know you love me"_

"So what are we gonna do now?" Elena's voice bring me back to present.

"I don't know…We wait I suppose" I reply.

"Nice plan." Elena mutters.

"Do you have anything to suggest?" I say a little bit annoyed.

"No…but"

"But Damon would have a plan?" I cut her off.

Elena gasps and she rises her hands up to show me how tired she was of this, I suppose.

"It's not about Damon! I just said that it would be better if we would try to get away." She says after calming herself.

"Don't pretend that you don't like him! Even Katherine knows it." I hissed.

"Oh, now you listen to her, don't you?" she say sarcastically.

"She is right on than one. I have eyes Elena." I shout.

"Why don't you trust me? I love _you_" she asks, whining a little.

"Yeah, right you love me." I say mimicking her voice. "You can't love two men, Elena. You can't love me and want to hook up with Damon at the same time."

"Oh, for God's sake, Stefan! Are you listening to yourself? What is happening to you?" she shouts burring her head to her hands, adding a melodramatic tone to the whole thing.

"Nothing is happening to me" I say calmly this time. "I am just saying…" I stop talking, since I realize that I couldn't yell to Elena, when I basically do the same thing. Hell, I love her. But I feel something for Katherine too. Even though she's not perfect. Besides you don't love someone because they're perfect. You love them in spite of the fact that they aren't. Oh did I just...?

I take a deep breath. "What is happening to us?" I ask, looking at her sadly.

Elena sighs. "I don't know, Stefan. I do love you, though"

I open my mouth to say something but she continues. "But sometimes that's not enough is it?"

I take another deep breath "Does this mean that we are…over?" I ask, not wanting to know the answer.

"No…It means that when we are out of here, we should talk and try to get through this. Maybe we can make it. Maybe we can't. That doesn't mean that we don't love each other" she says and she seems too wise.

I smile and I fix her hair. She smiles back.

Deep down, I know that nothing would be the same between us.

But somehow, that doesn't make me sad…. You can't lose someone you never had , I suppose. Because I never really had her...In the beginning he was a way to get over Katherine, to prove myself, I don't know what. And when I started to fall for her, my brother had appeared in her life and…Hell, I am not sure about anything anymore. 

_Damon_

I finally can feel like I want. Like a vampire.

Now I've got all I need to do what I have to.

"Thank you, Kathy" I say smiling to her. She smiles and she kisses me.

I did miss her. The way she smiles and she gets whatever she wants. But I don't love her. Maybe I still feel something for her, but sometimes the hard thing and the right thing are the same.

"I am hungry." I say.

"I thought so" she says and she gives me a bottle of blood. I drink as much as I can. I need strength. "Katherine…." I hesitate for a moment "did you ever love me? Tell me the truth, please…"

Katherine sighs. She looks down and then me, stepping closer to me.

"No, Damon. I never loved you" she says, that easily that makes me wanna cry. I take a deep breath.

"I am sorry." I whisper. Before she has the chance to answer. With vampire speed I grab the wooden stick, I throw her down and I am about to kill her but…I can't. I just can't. I rise my hand again, but still I can't kill her…I can't even hurt her. Her eyes…the way she's looking at me right now, reminds me so much of Elena…I throw the weapon away.

Then before I even can realize what's going on I am under her.

"I knew you would fall for that bitch's whining puppy look. I mean you did kiss her then…when you opened up to her, showing how good and caring you were….But ops, it was me. This is all you can get, Damon…Pretending and lying. But I will put an end to your misery." She whispers.

She takes the stick from the floor and she stubs me some inches down the heart. I groan and she pulls it off me, ready to kill me. It hurts like hell. I close my eyes.

When nothing happens I open them again, expecting to see Katherine smirking having found a way to hurt me even more. But what I see is completely different.

She was hit. In the heart by a wooden stick.

Instinctively I crawl a little bit back before she falls down. As much as I want to I can't look at her killer. I am just staring at her.

"To answer to your question, I don't think I can fool you. I am sure." Alaric says "Why did you think I kiss you? I just wanted my ring back." He waves his fingers to show her the ring. "And surprise surprise! Damon and Bonnie knew. Who is the filthy pathetic one now?"

I don't take my eyes off of her. She glances at me for a last time before she's….gone.

Alaric says something to Bonnie and she gets out, but I don't listen.

She's dead. Katherine is dead. A couple months ago I would die for her and now…

I can't believe she's gone. But the most surprising thing is that it doesn't hurt that much…I thought that I would die if anything would happen to her but…it's nothing like that.

But still the biggest purpose of my life for a lot of decades was now gone…The woman I once loved, the woman who gave me a chance to eternity, the woman who made me lose myself and my brother was now…dead.

"Hey…Are you..Let's just get out of here, shall we?" Alaric says, trying to help me stand up. I am trembling a little still looking at Katherine.

I hear him taking a deep breath. "She wasn't worth it, Damon. You know that. She doesn't worth to be in pain for her."

"I would die for her, once upon a time…"I mutter.

"A thing is not necessarily worthy because a man dies for it." He says in a low calm voice.

I nod and I walk to the door quickly.

I turn to look at him.

"Thank you…" I say

He nods.

I take one last look at Katherine and we both leave the room.

_Elena_

"Where are you going?" I ask Stefan who just opened the door.

Why no one tried that before?

"I have to find my mother, before we get out" he tells me.

"Who says that we are going to get out of here?" I ask.

"Trust me" he says and he's about to leave when Damon and Alaric shows up.

"Oh, God, Damon!" Stefan gasps.

"Oh, God, Stefan!" Damon mocks him.

"What happened?" Stefan asks.

"Why, what supposed to happen and apparently didn't and you are surprised?" Damon asks suspiciously "Did you expect any wedding gift?"

I don't know why, but I can see that something did happen, even though Damon tries his best to hide it.

"It would be better to try to go out together. Four are better than two." Alaric explains quietly.

Stefan looks really surprised but I can't figure out why.

"Where are the other vampires?" I ask.

"We killed some, when we were both humans-" Alaric brags but I cut him off.

"Were? Are you vampire again?" I ask Damon.

"Yep" Damon answers, giving me a smile.

"Anyway. I don't know where the other vampires are, but I don't give a fuck and we should probably get out before they are back." Alaric says.

"What if is a trap?" Stefan protest.

"Why would it be a trap? We are already captured. What would they possible achieve with an additional trap?" Alaric replies.

"Well, I don't think that they would just let us go." Stefan mutters.

"Maybe they were told to." Alaric says.

"Katherine is their leader. She won't let us out." Stefan says.

"First of all, we can't be sure that Katherine is their leader. And secondly…."Alaric hesitates.

"Katherine is dead" Damon announces, looking at the wall.

"What?" me and Stefan say in one voice.

"She's dead" Alaric repeats in a low voice. He looks Damon, Stefan and then down guiltily.

Before I can say something, Stefan pulls Damon against the wall.

"You did this?" he yells.

Damon pushes Stefan back.

"No. And don't touch me" Damon mumbles.

"How could you kill her? I thought you loved her! If that's how you show your love, then back off from Elena. And don't tell me that you did this for me cause we are brothers, you love me!" Stefan shouts.

"What you said were correct. There were a few mistakes though." Damon says, sarcastically apparently "One, I didn't kill her. Two, I _loved_ her. Past tense. Three, I think you want me to back off from Elena anyway, so it was pointless to mention it now. Four, Stefan in what universe I would say that I did something for you because I love you?"

Stefan frowns. "If you didn't kill her, who did?" he finally says.

"I…did.." Alaric whispers, still staring at the ground.

"She had to be killed." Damon snaps. "She was about to kill me. Not that you care. But I am sure she would kill you and Elena eventually, so…By the way, why do you care about Katherine. You hate her."

"I think we should find Bonnie." Stefan says ignoring Damon's question, which I wanted to ask to, but now is not the right time. Wait…Bonnie is here?

"Bonnie? Why didn't you tell me she was here?" I ask Stefan.

"I didn't want you to worry. I am sorry" he answers.

"You are right! We should look for her. She were supposed to meet us here…" Alaric says.

"Ok, let's slit" Stefan says

"Fine. Me and Elena, you go with Ric" Damon says.

"Why would you go with Elena?" Stefan protests.

"Stefan it's not a big deal" I say.

"Elena would be safer with me. You are kinda of weak." Damon says faking a smile.

"Oh, thanks Damon! If anything happens, you leave me with the weak one" Alaric complains or rather jokes. Stefan gives him an angry look and he looks down again.

"We will check this floor. You check, downstairs." Damon announces.

Alaric mumbles something and gets out of the room, while Stefan kisses me.

"Take care, Stefan" I say in a low voice.

"You too." Stefan says and he follows Alaric.

Damon sits down.

"Are you ok?" I ask. He seems he's in pain. Not just physically. I don't know why, but I can't see him like that…

"Yes, I am fine. We will go in a minute, ok?" he says.

"Are you bleeding?" I ask, noticing that he presses a particular place under his chest.

"I am fine" he breaths out.

"That doesn't look fine."

"I am a vampire. It will be healed, soon or later" he mutters avoiding my gaze.

"You need blood" I realize.

"I said I am fine" he insists.

"Don't be so stubborn. What if they will attack us at our way out? You need to be strong. For me." I say, knowing that he would surrender to that. So he does. He looks at me hesitantly.

"Ok. Lie down." He says.

"What?"  
"If I drink from your wrist, it would be much more painful than in the neck. Same if you are standing up. So lie down." He explains.

I nod and I slowly lie down. I remember when Stefan had drunk from my wrist and hell it was painful. It was even more painful when Katherine's vampires suck a huge amount of blood of my neck. I think it's reasonable to be a little stressed. But I want to help.

"Now close your eyes and relax" he says before he leans over me.

Easier to say than done, I think. I can't relax.

I lean my head to the left to make the access to my neck, easier. I look at Damon who seems that he's in pain but he tries to hide it and seem comforting and relaxed instead. He slowly removes my hair from my neck. He looks me in the eyes, trying to tell me that everything is gonna be ok. And I believe him.

I finally close my eyes.

"You are not full relaxed" Damon points out in a low voice. "It won't hurt, I promise"

"I know. I am sorry" I whisper without opening my eyes. I hear Damon sighing.

"Why are you apologizing for? You are saving me… Thank you." He whispers near my ear. I don't know how but his voice makes me shiver. He slowly takes my hand.

I feel Damon leaning his head over me but I am not stressed anymore.

In my surprise he kisses my neck instead of biting. I breath out.

God, why does this feel so good? I want to tell him not to stop kissing me, but I stay silent.

I feel his fangs in my neck. It does hurt slightly in the beginning, but not more than a bite of a mosquito. I hold Damon's hand, putting a little more pressure. Now I don't feel any pain at all, just a little weird feeling. I can't say I don't like it.

When he's done drinking, he caresses my cheek and then he kisses my neck again.

I hold his hand even tighter.

I don't notice I am smiling, until now.

In like a slow motion, I turn my head to where Damon is supposed to be and in the same speed again, I open my eyes.

He still stands over me looking at me, unable to move away. I certainly don't want him to. Now, his face is exactly above mine and wanting to reduce the space between us, I rise my head a little bit.

He seems undecided about his next move, afraid of me getting away. This time is my turn to make the stress go away, so I stroke his face with my free hand.

He hesitates for an instant and then he leans his head a little bit further. As the distance is basically gone, I feel my whole body melting. His hand tightens in mine.

He finally kisses my upper lip and I kiss him back. Slowly the kiss becomes more passionate and I want it to last forever. Then he moves away, just to kiss my neck again. I lean my head back again, letting him kiss me. He's holding my head now and he strokes my waist with his free hand. Then I wrap my hands around his neck, forcing him to look at me so I can kiss him. This time the kiss is even more passionate and I feel like I would completely melt and I would be one with the ground, if he wasn't holding me in his arms. He moves away, just to look at me and that makes me want him even more. The tension grows as he touches my down lip with his fingers. Then he kisses me again, now with his hands cupping my face.

But then he breaks the kiss. I try to kiss him again, pushing slightly his head down but he moves away, sitting quickly next to me.

Then I see the reason. Bonnie is at the door, staring at us. But I don't regret what I did. I would certainly do it again.


End file.
